Life with SAMCRO
by bethie86
Summary: Jax and Julie are raising Abel and their son Brayden as things go south with the Mayans. Tara has left Jax and Abel after Abel's kidnapping. Disclaimer: Julie and Brayden are mine. I do not own any of the characters from SOA. I just love the show.
1. Chapter 1

My life had been pretty ordinary before my parents decided moving to a small town like Charming was a good idea. I entered high school my junior year and graduated the next year. I was valedictorian of the school that year and had no money to do anything with it. I was off to find a job since I couldn't really go to school. It was really kind of annoying to me. I wanted to make something of my life and do something productive. I was 21 and a waitress at the café in town when a group of guys came in with Sons of Anarchy across the back of black leather vests. I didn't think much of them as I served them. There was one guy that stood out in the crowd though. I recognized him from school and I had heard all kinds of things about him. He smiled at me. It was only a matter of time before I melted at his gaze.

"Hey darlin, what you doing after work?" he asked.

"Going home." I replied.

"Nope, you're hanging out with me tonight."

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure of yourself?"

"I just know."

That was three years ago. Now here I was 24 years old and Jackson Teller's old lady raising two babies. Abel had just turned four and Brayden was six months. It wasn't the life I had originally imagined having but I wouldn't change it for the world. I was glad that Tara had left Jax. I was glad that he was now mine. I loved my man and our babies. I had followed Gemma's advice and I had learned to love the club. Jax and I were lying in bed when his phone went off. I rolled over as he answered it. I was falling back to sleep when I felt him get up. I looked at him.

"Gotta handle something real quick, I'll be home later," he said.

"All right," I replied.

"I love you."

"I love you too Jax."

"If you need me just call."

"Be careful babe."

"Always am."

He leaned down to kiss me and headed out the door. I looked at the clock. It was 1am. I didn't ask where he was going. I trusted Jackson more than I trusted anyone I had ever dealt with before. He had given up all the girls when we got married and I had our boy. He had already had Abel when we got together. I loved that boy like he was my own.

(Jax POV)

I headed out the door to handle some business. Opie met me on the corner with Half-Sack and Tig. I was tired because of the baby but I had to be a leader here. It was expected of me. I knew I was asking a lot of my wife and our kids to deal with this life but she had stuck by me for three years now. I had realized a while back that she wasn't the typical girl who tried to get with a biker. She had been very new and trainable to it all. Now she was amazing.

"Let's get this shit done so I can get home." I said.

"Awe, look at the family man." Tig joked.

"Shut up, where we headed?"

"Mayans territory."

"Let's go then."

We all sped off to deal with the Mayans. They never knew when enough was enough. Once we served the dish of revenge for a stolen shipment of guns which led to three of their deaths, one at my hand which left me with blood spatter on me, I headed home. It was just after 4am when I got back to my house. I knew my wife would wake up. She always did when I came home if she was sleeping. I looked in on her before heading for the shower. She was asleep with our six month old next to her on the bed. He was passed out and so was she. I jumped in the shower to be clean when Abel got up. That was something he never saw and I kept him away from. He had been thru enough. I had just gotten him back from being kidnapped when I met Julie. She had been great with him which was good because Tara had just left us both again. She had run off to who knows where and it was just me and him again. I wasn't doing too badly with it but it was really lonely. I hadn't meant to actually fall in love but I was glad that I did. Julie was amazing and she was able to handle a lot more than Tara could.

"Hey babe," she slid into the shower behind me.

I looked down to make sure all the blood was already off me before turning around to face her and pull her close. She grinned. I leaned down and captured her lips with mine. She moaned against me.

"Everything go ok?" she asked when she pulled back.

"Yeah, but I'm glad to be home with you and our boys." I replied.

She grinned again. I made joining me in the shower worth her while. She looked exhausted afterward so I carried her to our bed. She smiled, sleepily. I kissed her forehead and went to deal with my bloody clothes. I was in bed with her again before Abel got up. He came to our door and rubbed his eyes. I was laying there watching TV.

"Daddy?" he asked.

"Come here son." I said.

He came into the room and climbed up on our bed. I had shorts on and I had my wife in a SAMCRO t-shirt and a pair of underwear. She was sound asleep again. I pulled my son close to me, thinking about how I had almost lost him when he was first born. Now he was a healthy strong little boy that I couldn't imagine ever giving up.

"Daddy, did you leave?" Abel asked.

"For a little bit. Daddy had to help Uncle Opie with something." I told him.

He nodded and snuggled into me. I was glad that he wasn't too old to have love for his dad. I didn't know how I would take it when he was. There was a bond between Abel and I that no one was going to be able to break. I turned on a cartoon for him and tried to go back to sleep. He lay between Julie and me watching his show.


	2. Chapter 2

(Julie's POV)

I woke up to a small body between Jax and I. Abel had come into our bed and was watching cartoons. I yawned. He looked at me and grinned.

"Morning mommy." he said.

"Good morning, handsome." I smiled.

"Daddy came home."

"I know baby. He was only gone for a little bit."

"I know but I like it when he's at home with us."

"I know sweetie."

Abel looked back over at his dad. I glanced at Jax who had his eyes closed. I loved that man more than words could say. He was amazing. He made sure that the boys and I had everything we wanted or needed. I knew where my son was coming from when he said he liked it when daddy was home. About a month into my pregnancy with Brayden, Jax had been thrown in jail. He only spent a few months there but it was enough that Abel constantly worried about him. He was getting better about it but he still panicked if he woke up and Jax was gone.

"What you thinking about, darlin?" Jax was awake.

"How much I love you." I said.

He smiled and reached across our son to pull us both closer. Brayden was in his bed asleep still which gave us time for just us three. I loved being able to spend time with Abel when my youngest was sleeping and give Abel that reassurance that we were there for him no matter what.

"We gotta get up." I said.

"I don't wanna get up." Jax whined.

"You have to work today sir."

"I know."

He looked like a little kid whining about not wanting to go to school. I slid from his grasp and started getting my clothes together so I could get dressed. I looked at Jax. He was just lying there watching me. I shook my head.

"Get up, Teller." I said.

"Nope, don't wanna." He grinned.

"Jackson, go get Abel dressed while I get dressed. Then I will get the baby dressed."

He made a face but got up. He looked at Abel who was still watching cartoons.

"Come on kid, let's get you dressed." He said.

Abel got up and ran down the hall to his room. He came back looking like a true mini version of his father. I shook my head. He was too funny. I got dressed and went to get the baby up and dressed so we could leave the house. We usually spent time at the garage. I worked in the office with Gemma. She loved seeing the boys and spoiled them both. Jax rode on his motorcycle to the garage while I took our SUV with the boys. Abel talked the entire way there about helping his dad with something in the garage.

"Just be careful, Abel." I said.

"Of course mommy." He smiled.

Abel was just like his dad. He knew he could flash that smile and bat those baby blues and every female around couldn't resist him. He was following in his father's footsteps. I didn't mind as long as his father kept him reined in and on track. He was only four but all the girls at preschool loved him.

"Daddy." Abel jumped from the truck and followed Jax into the garage.

Jax stopped to wait for our son and took him by the hand. I took the baby from the back and went into the office. Gemma looked up from what she was doing.

"Good morning." She said.

"Morning Gemma." I said.

"How is my baby grandson?"

"He is doing good. The other monster is in the garage with his dad."

"Typical boy."

She chuckled as she said it. Things were different with Gemma and I as opposed to how they were when Tara was the one running around here. I didn't take any of Gemma's shit and I let her know that up front. I wasn't here for anyone but Jax and the boys. I had completely gained her respect when I didn't leave Jax while he was locked up. I did the time with him and never once thought of having anyone else in our lives. Jax was it and there was no taking that from me. There was an occasional croweater that had to be put in their place when it came to Jax and I had no issues doing that. The last girl that had tried to push up on Jax had done so in front of our son which had been the final straw for her. I flipped out and she left the building in an ambulance. There had been plenty of other girls around and so far no one had attempted to push my buttons again.

"Good morning, mom." Jax came thru the office door with his shadow behind him.

"Good morning, son." Gemma replied. "Grandson, what are you up to out there?"

"Working on cars," Abel smiled.

"Oh yeah, you think you're a big help huh?"

"I am, grandma, I promise."

Gemma smiled and pulled him into a hug. He giggled. Clay came walking thru the door. He looked at me.

"I need an inventory of what is in the club as far as food and drinks go please." He said.

"Gotcha." I said.

"Thanks kid."

I got up and picked up my baby's seat. He was staring at me. I grinned which caused his face to break into a smile. Jax followed me out with our four year old behind him.

"If you need any help, just call and I will send the prospect." He said.

"Are you keeping the munchkin?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter to me. If he gets to be too much or we get busy, Gemma can deal with him."

"If she needs to she can bring him to the clubhouse."

"All right babe."

"I love you Jax."

"I love you too Julez."

I put the baby in the truck and drove over to the clubhouse. I walked in to a disaster which put me into a shitty mood. I had not expected this kind of a mess. I put my son down on the pool table, still strapped into his car seat. He had fallen asleep on the ride over. I pulled out my phone and called Clay.

"Yeah," he answered.

"What the hell is this?" I demanded.

"What?"

"This clubhouse is trashed. You had a party last night I take it?"

"No, what do you mean by trashed?"

"I mean there are things everywhere."

"Get out of there, we are on our way."

I went to grab the baby as a hand grabbed me. I screamed causing him to wake up and start wailing. The other guy grabbed my other arm and dragged me out the door. I was still screaming until they hit me and it all went black.


	3. Chapter 3

(Jax POV)

I left Abel with my mom and high tailed it over to the club house with everyone else. We went in after I checked the truck which was empty. Brayden was in the infant seat on the pool table screaming at the top of his little lungs but Julie was nowhere to be found. I looked everywhere after I took my son out of his seat. He calmed down when I picked him up. I stared at the note on the bar once Clay found it.

"What the hell?" I said.

"Mayan's retaliation for last night. They have your wife Jax." Clay said.

I felt my blood begin to boil. I had to calm myself before I set off the air raid siren that was my son. Brayden looked up at me with those intense blue eyes that screamed help me. I thought about my wife and had to pass my son off to Clay. I couldn't look at him knowing his mom was out there having god knows what done to her.

"We go get her." I said.

"Of course Jax. She is family. We aren't going to let them get away with this. They are going to pay for it." Clay said, shifting Brayden.

I nodded. Brayden was still watching me. I knew he was wondering the same thing I was, where was his mother. I sighed heavily. We called Gemma to come get Brayden. We held church right after that to come up with a plan to go get my wife.

"Jax, I don't think you going is a good idea." Clay said.

"Are you kidding me? This is my wife. I will be there and I will be bringing her home." I said.

"Jackson, don't argue with me."

"I will be there Clay."

He sighed. There was no fighting with me on this one. He wasn't going to leave me behind on a mission that was going to be saving my wife. I was going to be bringing her home to our boys. I didn't care what anyone had to say about this.

"Fine, Jax." He said.

I stared at him. We came up with our plan and headed out to execute it.

(Julie's POV)

I woke up tied to a chain link fence. I no longer had clothes on and it was obvious to me from the pain in my body that something had happened to me. I could feel something warm running down my leg. I couldn't reach down to do anything about it or find out what it was. I wanted my husband to come get me. I had heard them talking Spanish so I knew which gang they belonged to. I knew exactly what they were trying to do.

I had no idea how long I had been there. I just knew I didn't want them to come back to where I was and I didn't want them doing anything else to me. I heard someone come in the door. I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended that no one existed.

"Jesus, baby, what the hell did they do to you?" Opie's voice found my ears.

"Op, get me the hell outta here." I whimpered.

He took a knife to the ropes that held me. I looked down at myself. He grabbed a blanket from nearby and wrapped it around me before scooping me up off the floor. He carried me out of the building and to the black van the guys drove most of the time on gun runs. I was sore and every movement hurt but I didn't say a word as he put me in the truck.

"We have to get her to the hospital." Opie said.

"We have to get everyone back first." Bobby said.

"Well let's do this."

I looked at Opie. He reached back and squeezed my hand. I couldn't bring myself to ask him where Jax was. I was scared to know.

"Here they come." Bobby said.

Jax jumped in the van and stared at me. I started to cry. I had never cried around any of the guys before. Jax pulled me to him and held me close.

"Baby, I'm so sorry." He said.

"It's all right Jax." I sobbed.

"No it's not. Our babies could have just become motherless."

"Jax, just take me home."

"No, I'm taking you to the hospital."

Jax stared at me. I sobbed in his arms. He held me as close as he could.


	4. Chapter 4

(Jax POV)

I held my wife in my arms. She was naked but wrapped in a blanket. I could tell she was bruised and something else had happened. I wasn't going to press her for information. We had gotten revenge against the Mayans. I leaned down and kissed my wife's forehead. Her eyes began to close. I was worried about her. She put a hand on my face.

"I love you Jackson Nathaniel Teller." She said.

"I love you too Juliet Marie Teller." I said, "Stay with me babe, stay awake."

"I'm so tired Jax."

"Come on babe, it's only a little farther. Please stay awake for me."

Her eyes began to close again. I gently shook her. Her eyes flew back open then slowly closed as she passed out. I looked at Bobby.

"Step on it." I said.

He put the pedal down and drove faster. We got her to the hospital and they started working on her. I paced the waiting room floor. Clay called Gemma to let her know that we had Julie but she was going to be in the hospital for a while. Bobby watched me for a minute. I looked at Opie. He was sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. I realized just how much Julie was family to all of these guys. They had accepted her a lot better than they had ever accepted Tara. I kept pacing until the doctor came in to give us an update on her condition.

"Mr. Teller, perhaps we should have this conversation away from the others." He said.

"No, they are her family too." I said.

"Mr. Teller, your wife was raped. We have given her the plan B contraceptive but there is no guarantee that it will work. She has lost a lot of blood and we had to give her a transfusion. Now we play the waiting game. It may be awhile before she wakes up."

I stood there trying to take in what the doctor was telling me. I knew that I should let it sink in but it hurt too much. I didn't want to hear what he had to say. I just wanted my wife to be all right. Clay grabbed me before I tried to leave the room. He shook his head.

"We deal with this as a family, Jax." He said.

I stared at him, trying to make sense of what he was saying to me. I just wanted to get to my wife and be by her side. I didn't care what they decided to do.

"Can I see her?" I asked.

"We have her sedated now but yes you can go see her. Two at a time," the doctor said.

I nodded. We walked back to her room. Clay looked at me.

"Now is not the time to fall apart Jackson," he said.

"Are you kidding me right now?" I asked, "Is that your wife lying there in the hospital bed beaten damn near within an inch of her life? No, I didn't think so. Please don't try to tell me what I need to do in this situation because you have never been in my situation."

I walked away from him and went to my wife's side. She looked like Abel had when he was first born and was in the incubator. I felt the same way I had then, completely helpless. There was nothing that I could do to make it better. The boys crossed my mind and I didn't know what to tell them. I just hoped that I wasn't going to have to tell Abel that another mommy was gone. He had already lost two of them.

(Julie's POV)

I woke up to a hand in mine and a head next to my arm. I had to blink a few times to focus my vision before I could look down that person next to me. It was my husband passed out in a chair with his head on the bed. I gently squeezed his hand causing him to bolt upright. He stared at me like I had just grown a second head before a smile appeared on his face.

"I thought I lost you for a minute there," he said.

"You almost did." I replied.

"Never in a million years will I lose you."

"I love you Jax."

"I love you more."

"You wish babe."

He leaned down to kiss me. I was surprised myself when I jumped and pulled back. He looked at me funny. I shook my head and the tears ran down my face.

"I'm sorry, I'm just scared still I guess. I can still feel them on me." I said.

"Baby, they will never hurt you or the boys again. I don't care if I have to put you under lock and key." He said.

I rolled my eyes. He was slower the second time he moved in to kiss me. I tried to let myself drown in his kiss but the second I closed my eyes, there was a Mayan member on me. It scared me and caused me to jump. He sighed.

"I'm sorry Jax." I said.

"It's all right baby, you just need time," he said.

I nodded. He sighed.


	5. Chapter 5

(Jax POV)

The people responsible had already paid for what had been done. The rescue mission was only part of what was to come for the Mayans. I had to make sure my family was safe first. Once they messed with them, all bets were now off. I was done messing with people and my desire to make SAMCRO do some legit legal stuff was gone. All I wanted now was blood. Julie and the boys were everything to me and having anything bad happen to them made my blood boil. I wasn't going to just take it lying down. I would have my revenge and retaliation would be sweet.

"What you thinking about?" she asked.

"Nothin," I lied.

"Jax, I know when you are lying."

"Don't worry about it babe. I got it all under control."

She stared at me for a moment. I didn't say a word. She reached out and took my hand again. I was gonna have to call Gemma and let her know that Julie was awake. I wasn't ready for the backlash that was going to come with it.

"How you feeling babe?" I asked.

"I'm ok." She said.

"Now who's lying?"

She smiled. I sat down on the bed next to her. She rested her head against my back. I was plotting in my head while feeling her breath. She sighed heavily.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing Jax," she said.

I felt her put her arms around me and squeeze. She looked at me.

"How is Brayden?" she asked over my shoulder.

"He's fine. We got to him and nothing had happened to him. He was on the pool table strapped into his car seat just screaming." I said.

She nodded. I glanced over my shoulder at her. She looked ready to cry again.

"Jules this wasn't your fault. It was mine. The Mayan's coming after you was retaliation for the night before." I said.

"Oh believe me I know. They made sure I knew who was doing it and why they were doing it. They wanted to hurt you." She said.

I took a deep breath. I was done with all the little games they were trying to play. We were going to show the Mayan's just how much they didn't want to play with us. Clay was working on something already. I just hadn't been told what. They were trying to keep me out of it so nothing happened to either of my boys or to Julie while we were not around to protect her. She yawned. I got up from the bed.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" I said.

"Hold me?" she asked.

I stood there for a moment unsure of if I should or not. Then I slid onto the bed next to her and put my arms around her. She snuggled into my chest and breathed deep. I kissed the top of her head.

"I love you Jackson." She said.

"I love you too babe." I replied.

(Julie's POV)

Having Jax there with me made it easier to sleep. I felt safe in his arms. He rested his chin on my head. We both ended up falling asleep. A nurse woke me up.

"Mrs. Teller, Chief Hale is out here wanting to talk to you." She said.

"You can send him in." I said.

"All right."

She sent him in the room. I looked at him.

"What can I help you with?" I asked, trying not to wake Jax.

"Jules, you can't let them handle this. It will get out of control and will become more of a problem for Charming." David Hale said.

"What do you want me to do, David? These guys raped and beat me for something I didn't even do. I am going to let my husband handle this. I don't need Charming PD to do anything for me. You have never given a shit before so why start now?"

"Julie, things are different this time. You know this. It's obvious that they aren't scared to get their revenge by coming into Charming any more than Samcro is about going there."

"What do you care? They are not dealing with anyone in the town other than SAMCRO so leave it alone."

He shook his head.

"It's only a matter of time before it's one of the kids Julie. Just think about that." He said.

"Get out." I said.

He left the room.

"You handled that beautifully." Jax said, not opening his eyes.

"Shut up." I said.

I wasn't in the mood to deal with any of them now. They had brought my kids into it and that is where I was going to draw the line. I was ready to leave the hospital. Gone was the scared girl I was when they first found me. I was going into mama bear mode and no one would touch my children. I didn't care the cost anymore. I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Baby, we are going to be ok," Jax had his eyes open now.

"Jackson, I was just raped and beaten. I have two kids at home that need me, and I can't do anything about that because I'm stuck in here," I said.

He got up from the bed. I looked at him. I was angry but it wasn't at him. I knew that in reality it wasn't his fault because he wasn't the one who made the choice to do what happened to me. I knew that he had no idea that something like this would actually happen to our family.

"Look, I gotta go do something with the club, I will come back later to check on you ok babe," he said.

"Whatever Jax," I sighed.

I wasn't in the mood for his promises. He kissed my forehead and walked out the door. I leaned back on the bed and allowed the tears to take over.


	6. Chapter 6

(Jax POV)

I knew Julie was hurting and didn't mean what she said. I headed to the club to get a few things straight for the night's moves. My mom had the boys there. Our crew had cleaned it up and gotten everything back together. Abel was sitting on the bar staring at me as I walked in. When the kids were at the club, there weren't any croweaters around. Clay made sure that stayed away from them. I knew I wouldn't have to deal with that unless I made a pit stop at CaraCara.

"Jax, how's she doing?" my mom asked.

"She's all right. Pissed, but all right." I said.

"She has every right to be Jackson."

"I know mom. I'm working on that now. Where's Clay?"

"Not here right now."

Brayden started fussing so she moved to get him from the infant seat. I looked at my older son who had not taken his eyes off me since I walked in.

"Daddy, where's mommy?" he asked.

"Mommy got hurt so the doctors are taking care of her; you and bubs are going to stay with Grandma while daddy deals with some business, all right?" I asked him.

He shrugged. She gave me that look that told me, something was more than wrong with my son, but I didn't have time to deal with it. Abel would be fine as soon as his mother was home and I had to make sure that was going to happen. He looked away from me as the door opened. Clay walked in with Tig, Bobby, and Piney. I followed them into Church.

"So what's the deal?" I asked.

"Alvarez believes he's untouchable now. Even with Zobel dealt with and no IRA guns around, he wants us to know he means business. We have to shut him down," Clay said.

"Is this coming to a vote or are we just going to do it?"

"He came after one of our innocents. We don't vote on that, Jax. We deal with him now and harshly. Let him know who runs Charming."

I nodded. It felt good to know that my charter was behind me in my rage. I had figured that Clay would be with Julie being his daughter in law but knowing the others were ready for the fight made me feel better. I looked at Opie across the table.

"Thank you Op," I said.

"For what?" he asked.

"Bringing her back to me and the boys."

"Jax, she's family."

I nodded. They liked her better than Tara, but family business sometimes stayed family business and the rest of us stayed out of it.

"I'm the one who called you that night," he said. "I owed it to her to bring her home. I wouldn't let her stay any more than you would with Donna."

I nodded. There was no way I would let Donna be in another territory without going to get her with my friend. We finalized all the plans for that night.

(Julie's POV)

I was trying to rest when the door opened. Gemma walked in with my boys. I smiled when I saw them. Abel's little face clouded over when he saw me. I looked at Gemma and shook my head. We weren't going to tell the boys anything about me being beaten. I wasn't going to have my kids know what happened.

"Mommy, you ok?" Abel asked.

"Yeah baby, mommy's all right." I said.

"What happened to you?"

"Mommy got hurt by some bad men."

"What did they do?"

"They wrecked mommy's car baby."

"No more TV?"

"Daddy will get us a new car with TV sweetie."

"How'd they break the car?"

"They stole it and mommy tried to stop them."

"Daddy will beat them up."

I chuckled at my son's logic. He was so young and Jax was his hero. I knew Jax was going to handle it.

"When you coming home?" Abel asked.

"I will be home tomorrow bud." I said.

"I want you home now,"

My heart broke as Abel's voice shook. He looked up at Gemma. She had tears in her eyes already. I was worried about my son but I knew he was in good hands. Gemma made certain that the boys were always taken care of.

"Grandma will take care of you tonight until daddy comes home," I said.

"No, I want you," his lower lip quivered.

"Abel, I will be home tomorrow. Mommy has to rest so she can get better."

"Ok, I love you mommy."

"I love you too baby boy."

He looked at Gemma. She nodded to him. I sighed heavily. When they left a fresh round of tears began for me. It was broken up by another visitor. My heart stopped when she walked in the door. I couldn't believe it.

"Julie Teller?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"I see Jax is still causing problems for everyone."

"Jax is not the problem."

"Well your face tells another story."

"Jax did not do this to me."

"Julie, Julie, Julie, when are you going to learn that there is more to life than SAMCRO?"

"Get out."


	7. Chapter 7

(Jax POV)

I got back to Julie just as an ATF agent walked out the door. Julie looked even more pissed when I walked in the room. I wasn't going to waste time with asking her what was going on.

"She is trying to get dirt on you," she said.

"What did you tell her?" I asked.

"Jackson, what the hell do you take me for?"

"Baby,"

"Don't baby me right now Jax. I'm really not in the mood for it. Our son was just in here crying that I won't be at home tonight and I couldn't even promise him that you would be home to take care of him since I can't."

"What do you want from me Julie?"

"I want our kids to have their father since their mother isn't able to be there."

"You don't want me going tonight?"

"No, Jax, I don't. I think it's going to lead to more problems with our family. A damned ATF bitch was just in here trying to get me to tell her that you are beating on me. Isn't that enough for one day? Let her catch wind of anything else and you all go down. She's following you Jackson and only you. She has left the rest of the crew alone since I'm now in the hospital."

"Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm lying? I'm not just looking out for my family of you, me, and the boys babe, I'm looking out for us all."

I pulled out my phone and called Clay.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I can't go tonight," I said.

"Why the hell not?"

"ATF was just in here drilling Julie about me. They're tailing me. I have to lay low for the good of everyone."

"How do you know ATF was there?"

"She was leaving as I got here."

"All right, thanks for the heads up."

"It came from Julie."

"Tell her thanks. We got her back."

"Call me when it's done."

"Of course, son."

I hung up and looked at Julie. She sighed heavily. I knew that she was ready to go home. I was home with the boys that night which calmed Abel's nerves a bit. Once they were both in bed, I sat up waiting on the phone call. I fell asleep on the couch that night. Sleeping in the bed without Julie just felt wrong. My phone rang at 3am. I picked it up.

"Yeah," I answered it.

"It's done," Opie said.

"The whole place."

"It's in flames as we speak."

"Good."

"We will see you tomorrow Jax."

I hung up the phone and went to check on my boys. Abel wasn't in his bed. I went looking for him and found him on Brayden's bedroom floor. I picked him up and took him back to his bed. I sat back down on the couch afterward.

(Julie's POV)

Jax showed up with the boys to get me for my release. I was sore but ready to go home. I wanted life to go back to normal. Abel was bouncing off the walls about me coming home. I had not been able to sleep the night before. The doctor had actually given me a sedative to be able to sleep. I knew things would be better once I was at home.

"Come on babe, let's get you home." Jax said.

"I'm ready." I replied.

We headed home. I was worn out by the time we got there.

*one month later*'

The retaliation had not come for the fire. The guys were convinced their message worked but Jax was just waiting for something else to happen. I took the boys up to the club to see their dad. Jax was in the middle of a game of pool with Juice when some porn star came thru the door. I was pretty sure she was a porn star from the way she dressed.

"Jax, I'm ready to go home now." She said.

Jax glanced at her and went back to his game. Abel had run over and hugged Jax's leg so he knew we were there. I was sitting on the couch with my younger son in my arms talking to Chibs. He was now watching Jax to see what would happen.

"Jax, you promised me." She said.

"I did no such thing. I promised you would get home safe, I never said it would be me that would get you there." He told her.

"Well then who is going to take me?"

"Sack, get out here."

Half-Sack came out from the store room. The girl's face fell. She tried to turn on her charm and push up on my husband. I was waiting to see his reaction. Abel stared up at her like she had just lost her mind. He pushed her. She reached down and moved him away. Jax's face clouded over.

"Look, I am trying to be nice because of LuAnn but if you ever put your hands on my son again, there will be problems. Sack will get you home but don't expect this all the time. I am beginning to not care who gets their hands on you," he growled.

I sat back on the couch to just watch this unfold. She tried to whine her way out of it.

"Jax, I'm sorry. It's just been a real trying day. I just want you to take me to my house so I can unwind in a warm bubble bath." She said.

"I just told you who was taking you home, this is not up for discussion. Abel, go over there with mommy please," he said.

Abel glared at the girl and came over to me. I looked at Chibs.

"Think I'm gonna have to put her in her place?" I asked.

"I would expect nothing less from you hun," he said.

I grinned and handed him the baby. I got up.

"Abel, stay here with Chibs." I said.

"Make her go away, mommy," Abel said.

I walked over to my husband and snaked my arms around him. She gave me a dirty look.

"We are having a conversation here, so go away." She snapped.

"Oh, really, you were having a conversation with MY husband and you put your hands on MY son." I said.

She just stared at me for a second like it wasn't registering in her head.

"I'm having a conversation with Jax. Not you so you need to leave us alone," she said.

I released Jax and let her think she had won. When my fist connected with her nose, the shock was evident. She hit the ground with more force than I would have thought for as scrawny as she was. I stood over her.

"Now the next time my husband tells you Prospect will be taking you home the answer will be a simple ok, thank you Jax for making sure someone gets me safely home. You will never put your hands on my child or attempt to push up on my man." I growled.

She nodded with both hands over her gushing nose.

"Really, again, Jules?" Clay had just walked in.

"When they won't take no for an answer you bet your ass," I said.

He shook his head with a smile on his face.

"Juice, get her out of here and Sack get this shit cleaned up," he said.

I looked at my husband. Jax had a grin on his face. I kissed him, slow and deep.

"I love you," he said.

"You better," I told him.


	8. Chapter 8

(Jax POV)

Julie was one hell of a woman. She had dealt with a lot since getting with me. Some of it was my own fault. I hadn't given up the porn stars when we got together because I hadn't planned on us lasting this long. I had figured it would be a few dates and she would be gone. She had stuck it out so far though which made her amazing in my book.

*two months later*

Retaliation never came but we found out why. Alvarez had gotten himself locked up over some weapons charges. I was working in Teller-Morrow when I got a phone call. Abel was apparently playing super hero in the backyard and may have broken his arm. Julie had him down at St Thomas getting it x-rayed. I headed down there to make sure he was alright.

"Jax," someone said, as I looked for my wife.

I turned and came face to face with Tara. I didn't know what to say to her.

"Jax," Julie called my name.

I glanced at Tara again and walked away to my wife. Abel was sitting with ice on his arm. I looked at Julie. She had this weird look on her face. I looked at her funny.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't feel good." She said.

I took Brayden from her. She looked like she was going to throw up. I stared at her.

"Have they looked at his arm yet?" I asked.

"Waiting on them to read them now," she said.

"Why don't you head home?"

"All you have is the bike right?"

"Yeah?"

"I won't take your bike Jax."

"I'm not asking you to take my bike babe, I will call Gemma to get the boys."

"Jax, I won't leave our son."

"Abel Teller?" a nurse called.

She stood up and looked at our son. We all followed her back to a room. The doctor came in to tell us the arm was definitely broken but it would heal fine. They were going to put a cast on it before we left. Julie was beginning to look a bit green. I looked at her.

"Babe, you good?" I asked

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said.

"Ok."

The door opened again and Tara walked in. She looked at me then at Abel. She looked back up at me.

"Superhero huh?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said.

I didn't have anything to actually say to her. Julie glanced at me and I shook my head. She turned her attention back to Abel.

"Well we are going to put a cast on it and then you can take him home." She said.

"How long is that going to take?" Julie asked.

"Not long, I'm gonna go get the stuff now."

Julie nodded. Tara looked at her.

"I'm Dr. Tara Knowles." She said.

"I'm Julie Teller," Julie replied.

They had never actually met before. I was waiting on Julie to say something else but her attention was on Abel.

"Are you ok?" Tara asked her.

"Yeah, why?" Julie looked at her.

"You look a little pale."

"I'm just tired and fighting off a cold."

Tara nodded, then looked at me. I shrugged. I wasn't going to argue with Julie.

"I will be right back," Tara said.

"Ok," Julie replied.

She walked out the door. Julie looked at me.

"Your ex is back," she said.

"I guess," I replied.

"Did you know?"

"No, why would I have known?"

She shrugged.

"I think I need a pregnancy test," she said, suddenly.

"You think you're pregnant again?" I asked.

She nodded. I had wondered but I hadn't said anything. I was waiting on her to say it.

"We can get one here," I said.

She shook her head.

"I don't trust her," Julie said.

Tara came back in the room. I figured I would go ahead and say something.

"Can we get a pregnancy test for my wife too?" I asked.

"I guess so," Tara said, sounding slightly disappointed.

I shifted Brayden. He had fallen asleep in my arms. The cut never bothered the boys. They didn't care if I had it on or I didn't when I held them. I looked at my son on the bed. Tara had set about putting the cast on his arm. She had the nurse get the test for Julie. While Julie was in the bathroom, Tara took the opportunity to talk to me.

"So how have you been?" she asked.

"Busy," I said, shifting Brayden again.

"I see, how old is he?"

"Nine and a half months."

"He's cute."

"Thanks."

I looked at Abel who was watching her put the cast on his arm.

"He's gotten big," she said.

"He's almost five now," I said.

"Wow, time flies."

"Yeah it does."

"Jax, we need to talk outside of here."

"No, Tara, we don't. I have my family and I'm happy. I won't lose that."

"Jax, it's important."

Julie came back in the room and Tara stopped talking. I was grateful for that. I didn't want to hear what she had to say. Julie didn't look as pale anymore. The nurse came in a few moments later to give Tara the results of the test. Tara looked at Julie.

"Congratulations, you are pregnant." She said.

Julie looked at me, slightly shocked. I smiled and kissed her. Abel smiled.

"Ready to be a daddy again?" Julie asked.

"Of course baby," I grinned.


	9. Chapter 9

(Julie's POV)

Some good had come out of our little trip to the hospital. Abel was going on and on in the car on the way home about getting all the guys to sign his cast. I took both boys to the house. Brayden needed a nap. I was worn out and I needed Abel to relax a little bit before we got his cast signed.

"Mommy, where did daddy go?" Abel asked.

"Back to work honey." I said.

"Why?"

"Because he has bikes and cars to work on."

"Oh, ok."

I lay down on the couch to relax for a few minutes. Brayden was in his crib already. Now we just had to figure out how to tell everyone down at the club that we were expecting again. I wasn't sure how long Jax could contain the secret.

When Brayden got up, I loaded the boys up and headed down to Teller-Morrow. I was looking for my husband. He wasn't in the garage but Gemma was in the office.

"Hey honey, what's up?" she asked.

"Where's Jax?" I asked.

"He's in Church."

"What's going on now?"

She shrugged. She knew but she wasn't going to tell me with the kids right here. I sighed. They came out of the clubhouse and Jax spotted me. He looked worried. I shifted my son. Abel ran over to him. Jax picked him up and kept heading my direction.

"What's going on babe?" I asked.

"We are packing up and laying low in the clubhouse for a few days," he said.

"Why?"

"We got word that something is about to go down and they are coming after us hard."

"Who is?"

"Mayan's."

"Is it?"

He cut me off with a nod. I took a deep breath. He pulled me to him with one arm while he held Abel with the other. We headed home to pack up to stay in Jax's room at the clubhouse for a while. I wasn't sure how long we would be there so I made sure the boys had enough stuff and that we would have enough. Jax looked at me as he came out of the bedroom with a bag in his hand. I already knew what was in there. He looked at me.

"You know you may have to use this," he said.

I nodded. We had been to the SAMCRO gun range before. I had learned how to shoot a gun from my husband. I had tried to stay away from them until my rape. Jax wasn't like Clay had been when Zobel's guys had raped Gemma. He didn't shut down; he had pulled me closer and taught me how to make them pay for it. I looked at my son coming out of his room with a toy in his hand. He had his little back pack on his back.

"Ready?" Jax asked him.

He nodded. We loaded back up and headed to the clubhouse. Everyone was already there and we had extra members hanging around to keep everyone safe. The gates were locked and Teller-Morrow was shut down. There was no getting into the clubhouse without someone knowing what was going on.

"Come here." Gemma told me.

I followed her over to the bar.

"Have a drink with me," she said.

"I can't." I told her.

She looked at me. I didn't say anything more. I walked back over to Jax. She walked over to us both. He had Abel by the hand and Brayden in his arms.

"Another one?" Gemma asked.

Jax nodded. She grinned.

"Can we have a girl this time?" she joked.

"Who are you telling?" I laughed.

"What is going on over here?" Clay asked.

"We are getting another grandbaby," Gemma told him.

"Really?"

Jax nodded. Clay slapped him on the back and smiled.

"Congratulations, son." He said.

"Thanks." Jax grinned.

Tig got everyone's attention for Clay. He gave us all the talk about what needed to be done and that we were all safe at the clubhouse, no one was to go anywhere without an escort and that if we needed anything to talk to Gemma or me about it. If they got sick they were to talk to Bobby's old lady who was a doctor at the neighborhood clinic. She had just been laid off because of government budget cuts closing the clinic down. Now she was always patching up members of SAMCRO. Abel looked up at Jax.

"Daddy, I'm scared." He said.

"Nothing to be scared of here, son," Jax told him. "Daddy, Grandpa, and all the guys are going to keep you all safe."

Abel nodded. I was prepared for this to be a long wait before we could go back home. Jax kissed the side of my head.

"I love you." He said.

"Love you too," I replied.

He had taken everything down to his room. Everyone else had taken their stuff to different rooms within the clubhouse. Opie and Donna were next door to us with Ellie and Kenny. I was glad that it was them next to us and not someone else. I had brought a travel bed for Brayden and Abel would be sleeping with us. It was weird to be in the clubhouse and it was crawling with families. I was used to is only being Abel and Brayden around there.


	10. Chapter 10

(Jax POV)

The threat of the drama that was going to go down was not taken lightly. It was a huge hit put out on us by some really nasty guys. I was worried about my family. It made me a better dad to be worried about them. We had just found out about Julie's pregnancy. I was worried about how she would handle the stress of being in the clubhouse all the time. The boys were used to being here so it was nothing new to them. The meals that were being cooked were going to have to be on a much larger scale to feed us all. I hoped that Gemma and Julie were up for it. Donna would do anything to jump in and help so I knew it would all be taken care of. We had guys on the roof that were armed at all times and guys on the gate that stayed armed. Cars were parked so that the gate couldn't be just pushed open and no one could walk in. We were lucky that the cars in the shop were all ours. None of them were civilian cars now. Julie came walking back over to me. Clay had just given his speech to all the families.

"I have some good news to share with you all," Clay said.

"What good news could you have at a time like this?" Piney asked.

"I'm gonna be a grandpa again. Just found out today."

Congrats were thrown around for Julie and me. I had both my boys close to me at all times until Clay called church. I handed Brayden to his mother and followed the others into the room.

"All right, everyone is here and now it's time to be sure they stay safe." Clay said.

I sat in my chair and leaned back.

"What's the plan?" I asked.

"Well they want to push into Charming, we are going to have to beat them back a few steps." Clay said.

"Baseball style or other?"

"I don't care how."

I nodded. We set up a plan and called the meeting. I walked back out to my family. Julie was getting Brayden a cup of water. She glanced my way. I went over to kiss her before we headed out. She walked out with us with Brayden in her arms. I sighed. Gemma came out with Abel to see us off. I looked at my wife.

"We got this under control babe," I said.

She nodded. I sighed heavily. Julie was always behind me a hundred percent. I looked at my kids and knelt in front of Abel.

"Take care of your mom, lil man," I said.

"I will, daddy." He replied.

I got on my bike, put my helmet on, and started it up. We all headed out. Clay looked at me as we drove down the road. I was ready to do this. We all were ready for this.

(Julie's POV)

As we watched the guys pull out, Gemma pulled Donna and I close to her. She had Abel in front of her. I was worried about my family.

"They'll be ok," Gemma said.

I nodded. They were out handling business while we were keeping everyone in the clubhouse going.

"Let's get all these people back inside," Gemma said, ushering Abel toward the door.

I carried my youngest son inside. Gemma had Abel with her. Donna had Ellie and Kenny with her to make sure they got inside. I made sure that both my boys made it back where they should be. I was holding down the fort like I was supposed to. It was just expected for me to be the princess of SAMCRO because I was Jax's old lady. Gemma looked at me.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I shrugged. She looked at me.

"Jules, you will be all right, Jax will be here for the baby," she said.

"I know he will," I said.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Is it the baby?"

"No, it's not the baby. It's just everything that is going on."

"Honey, this is just a bad time. We will be back on top soon. You just have to have faith with us."

"I'm here, Gemma. I really am, but I have to think of the kids too."

"I know Jules."

I looked over at my boys. Abel was playing with some cars. Brayden was watching him thru the pack n play sides. I couldn't imagine my life any different than it already was. Jax was amazing with the kids and I didn't want to live life without him. Gemma was still watching me.

"It will get better. This isn't the first hard time you have dealt with." Gemma said.

"I know Gemma, I just worry about Jax when he is going out doing things like this," I replied. "I don't wanna have to tell my boys that daddy isn't coming home."

"I know you don't, Jules. I don't want that either."

I nodded. I looked away from the boys and around the clubhouse. Every one of the women that were here belonged to someone. I knew they were all thinking the exact same thing that I was thinking. I looked at Gemma again. She put her hand on my arm. I put my hand on her hand.

"We are in this together, hun." She said.

I nodded. The guys were gone for about three hours. I was definitely ready for them to be back when I heard the motorcycle engines outside. I went to see my husband. Both boys were taking a nap in our room. Jax got off his bike. He looked a lot calmer than he had when he left. I smiled. He came over to me. I saw that everyone had made it back alive and well. There were a few bruises but that was it.

"Where are the boys?" Jax asked.

"Sleeping," I said.

He nodded and kissed me. We walked into the clubhouse together.

"Abel is actually taking a nap?" he asked.

"He isn't feeling good. His arm was bothering him so I gave him some Tylenol." I said.

"Poor guy."

"He will be all right. He is tough like his daddy."

"I believe it."

He smiled and pulled me close to him. I grinned.


	11. Chapter 11

(Jax POV)

After the run in with the Mayan's, getting to go back to my family in one piece felt great. I was surprised that Abel was taking a nap. He hadn't taken a nap since he was three years old. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't feeling good and his arm had been the source of that nap. Julie looked at me. I rubbed her belly.

"Are we ready for another one?" I asked.

"Have to be babe," she smiled.

"True."

"I just hope it's a girl this time."

It didn't make any difference to me if it was a boy or a girl. I just wanted a healthy baby. We had gotten lucky with Brayden. He didn't inherit the family flaw that Abel had. I was happy that I had a healthy boy. I was happy that Abel was way stronger than they thought he would ever be after having such a rough start to life.

"Hey my love, let's go lie down and take a nap," I said.

"Sounds like a plan to me." She said.

We walked down to my room. I opened the door and followed her in. I checked on Brayden. He was sound asleep with his hands balled up above his head. I looked at my wife who had just lay down next to our four year old. She smiled at me. I laid down on the other side of my son. Abel didn't really budge. He was pretty solidly asleep. My phone went off. I looked down.

"Shit, I gotta see what this broad wants," I said.

"Who?" Julie asked.

"Tara."

Julie made a face. I leaned over, kissed her, and got back up. I flipped open the phone and answered the call.

"What?" I asked.

"We need to talk," she said.

"For what?"

"Jax, things need to be different for us."

"Different how?"

"I need you to be there for me."

"For what?"

"Jax I want Thomas to have a family."

"Who is Thomas?"

"He's your son."

"What are you saying right now?"

"I have a two year old son, and he is yours."

"Tara, don't bullshit me now."

"I'm not, Jax. I tried to keep him from this stuff in Charming but I had to come back for you and for him to know you."

I looked over at Julie who was watching me. I turned toward the door.

"I'll meet you in ten minutes." I said.

I got off the phone and turned back to Julie. She looked disappointed.

"You are really going to meet her?" she asked.

"I have to, Jules. She says she has my son. I have to see if it's true." I said.

"Whatever Jax, do what you want."

I sighed heavily. She rolled over and laid all the way down. I sat down on the bed. She ignored me, which said I was in trouble.

"Julie." I started.

"Jax, just go. And do it before the boys wake up. I don't want to have to explain to Abel why daddy is leaving again." She said.

I left the room without another word. Clay caught me in the hallway.

"Where you going, son?" he asked.

"I gotta go talk to Tara." I said.

"Didn't know she was back."

"Apparently with a kid who is supposedly mine."

Clay shook his head. I walked out of the clubhouse, got on my bike and left.

(Julie's POV)

There was a knock on the door which told me Jax had actually left. I was hurt that he just dropped everything for Tara. She had left him and Abel years ago. I had been the one piecing Jax back together from all that. Now I was stuck in the clubhouse, two kids to take care of and one on the way while he was out with her. It just pissed me off.

The knock resulted in Clay. I looked at him.

"You ok?" he asked.

I shook my head. He sighed heavily.

"I can't have you two falling apart right now. This shit is serious," Clay said.

"I don't want to fall apart," I said.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Wait for him to get back and deal with it then."

He nodded. I wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now. I had kids to raise and one on the way. Clay walked out of the room. Gemma came in as he was leaving.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"Jax just went to meet up with Tara, she supposedly has his son." I said.

"That little bitch, I knew something was up when she left him."

I shrugged, not really caring anymore. If I had to, Brayden, the baby and I would leave and that would be the end of it. I wasn't going to put my kids thru that. It would hurt to lose Abel and Jax but I had to weigh my options. Gemma was staring at me.

"Don't make any rash decisions, kiddo," she said.

"I won't but I have to do what keeps me and my babies going," I replied.

She nodded. I looked at the boys who were both still sleeping. I had no desire to give up Abel and I wanted my family to stay together but that was all up to Jax now.

"Just wait until he comes back," Gemma said.

"I will, Gem." I replied.

"It will be ok."

I decided now was the time to take a nap while I waited to see what Jax had to say. I wasn't sure how long it took me to fall asleep but I woke up to Abel climbing up next to me.

"Mommy, where's daddy," he asked.

"He's not back yet," I replied.

"Everyone else is."

"I don't know Abel."

"Mommy, does daddy still love us?"

"Of course he does," Jax was in the doorway. "Why would you ask that, son?"

Jax came in the room. He sat down on the bed next to me. Abel stared at him. Jax looked at me again. I sighed.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said.

"Julie, are you jealous of Tara?"

"What the hell do I have jealous for?"

"Nothing, which is my point."

"Jax, why are things even like this?"

"Abel, go see grandma for a little bit. I need to talk to mommy."

Our son ran down the hall. I looked at my husband.

"Jackson, I don't like that you just up and left because she called," I said.

"Julie, I told you that, me going to see her was because I wanted to see if she had my kid," he replied.

"And does she?"

"I get a paternity test next week."

"Fine."

"Are we going to live like this until then?"

"I don't know Jax."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Jax, I have to do what I need to do to keep our family together."

"Then you have to trust me,"

"Like I trusted you with the stripper right?"

"You have to let that go."

"Really? I saw her out there Jackson."

"So, what's your point?"

"If I have to explain my point to you then I may as well leave now."

"If that's what you want,"

"If I go, I'm taking Brayden with me. I will not lose my child."

"You aren't taking him anywhere. You are not going anywhere."

"You planning on keeping me hostage now Jackson?"

"No, I plan on keeping you safe. You are my wife. You just need to have a little more faith in me."

"Jax, so far having faith in you has only led to me getting hurt."

He put his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes. I had decided to lay it all on the line. He had to know exactly what I felt.

"Jax, I love you more than anything in this world. I just don't know if this is even worth it anymore. I've been hurt more times than I can count. The kids are always hurt. It's not fair to us." I said.

"Julie, I'm sorry, I'm not perfect. I love you and our kids. I would be lost without you guys. You are the reason that I make this club work." He said.

"I've never asked you to be perfect Jackson, I have just asked you to be faithful."

"I'm sorry Julie. I have screwed up."

I stared at him for a moment. I couldn't stay mad at him. He held too much of my heart. He looked up at me. I sighed heavily.

"Jackson, I love you. I just don't know what to do anymore." I said.

"I love you, just stay with me and we will fix this," he replied.

"We are gonna fix this?"

"Of course we are. I don't want to lose you or our kids."

He pulled me into his arms. I sighed and put my arms around his neck.

"I love you Julie." He said.

"I love you too," I replied.

"Come on, let's go find our boys."

"Brayden's in the pack n play."

"Nope, Gemma came and got him while you were sleeping."

I shook my head. My mother in law was crazy about her grandkids.


	12. Chapter 12

(Jax POV)

I had to show Julie just how much she meant to me. I didn't care about the other girls I had messed around with. I took her out into the main part of the clubhouse. The stripper, Tina, was in the corner of the room. Clay had brought her in because we owned the strip club. I had messed up big time by sleeping with her. Julie glanced at her. She wouldn't even look our way which was probably good for her. Julie was hormonal already from this baby. I sighed. Julie looked over at my mom. She smiled. Julie just nodded at her. I looked at Clay. He walked over to us.

"Can I talk to you, son?" he asked.

I nodded and followed him into church.

"You and Julie fix your stuff?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Good, I don't know what is going on but it can't be good for the club if you two are always fighting."

"I know Clay. I am working on it."

"You better,"

I shook my head. He sighed.

"Mom put you up to this?" I asked.

"No, I noticed the way you left and the way that Julie was after you left. I have never seen her so broken, Jax." He said.

I really felt bad then. I hated putting Julie thru so much but I was thankful that she had stuck by me and she was making me want to be a better person.

"I'm working on it, Clay." I said.

"Ok, son." He replied.

I walked back out and found my wife. She was talking to Donna. I put my arms around her and pulled her close to me. She sighed and leaned back into me. I grinned. I kissed the back of her head.

"It's good to see you two getting back on the right track." Donna said.

"We will be ok, this is just a rough patch." I told her.

She nodded. Opie came up to her. I looked at Julie. She turned in my arms and put her arms around my neck. She kissed me. I ran my fingers thru her hair. She pulled back and smiled.

"I do love you." She said, breathlessly.

"I love you too babe," I smiled.

(Julie's POV)

We were in the clubhouse for a week before we all went home. The threat was over and had been taken care of. Jax and I walked in the door of home to find it had been completely ransacked. I looked at him. He shook his head and got on the phone. Gemma had the boys because we weren't sure what we would go home to. I didn't want them to be scared. I was glad that I had made that choice. Jax looked at me.

"Go out to the car," he said.

"Jax, what the hell happened here?" I asked.

"I don't know. Just go out to the car. I will be there in a minute."

"Ok."

I was still sitting on the car when I heard the engines of motorcycles getting closer. Clay, Tig, Bobby, Juice, and Happy pulled up. I got up from the hood of my car. Clay put one arm around me and we walked into the house.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Jax called you?" I asked him.

"Yeah, he did."

"The house is destroyed."

They looked around the house. Jax was standing in the middle of the mess looking pissed off. I went over to him. He looked at Clay.

"What the hell happened here?" Clay asked.

"I have no damn idea." Jax said.

"Well guess it is back to the clubhouse for your family."

"Guess so."

"All right, let's get you guys out of here and back there."

Jax nodded and led me back to the car.

"You gonna be ok to drive back there?" he asked.

I nodded. He kissed me. I went back to the clubhouse. Gemma came out the door of the office. I looked at her. She sighed.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Someone broke into the house and destroyed it." I said.

"Jesus."

"We are going to be staying at the clubhouse for a while."

"Ok."

"Jax is taking care of it all."

"Good. The boys are having fun with Nita today."

"Good. I'm glad they weren't there for that."

She nodded in agreement. I sighed and headed for the clubhouse. The guys pulled up as I was walking in the door. I looked at Opie as I walked in the door.

"Hey lady, thought you were going home?" he asked.

"Yeah, me too." I said.

"What's going on?"

"Someone broke in and ransacked the house."

"Seriously?"

I nodded. I took our stuff back down to Jax's room. He came in the clubhouse while I was still down in his room.


	13. Chapter 13

(Jax's POV)

"Dude, seriously someone ransacked your house?" Opie asked.

"Yeah, where's Julie?" I asked.

"She's in your room."

I nodded and walked down the hall. Julie looked over at me.

"You ok babe?" he asked.

"As ok as I'm going to be with everything that is going on." She said.

"I'm so sorry babe."

"It's not your fault Jax."

"I know but our house is one place you should feel safe."

"Jax, it's all right. We will deal with this and we will be ok."

I moved closer to her. She smiled. I pulled her into my arms. She sighed.

"I love you Jax." She said.

"I love you too." I replied.

She still looked worried. Gemma brought the boys back to the clubhouse. I was worried about them and how Julie was dealing with this as well as being pregnant.

*three weeks later*

We were back at home now. I had a prospect at the house at all times. Julie was doing what needed to be done for her and the kids. The prospect stayed with her all the time.

"Jax," Chibs called.

I walked over to him and Happy.

"Have you seen Clay?" he asked.

I shook my head. I had just gotten there. How would I have seen him yet? When I did see him I was caught off guard. He had gotten messed up trying to do something stupid. He was trying to get his seat back and I wasn't giving it up.

"Where did he go last night?" I asked.

"Oakland," he said.

"Damn,"

"Yeah, he needs to get it together before he messes it up for all of us."

I had Clay's seat and the gavel. He hated that he had to answer to me. I did what needed to be done for us and the club. My phone went off. I looked at it and answered Julie's call.

"What's going on baby?" I asked.

"We have to go," she said.

I didn't get what she was talking about.


	14. Chapter 14

(Julie's POV)

I was on the phone with my husband with a gun to my head. I looked up at the guy.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We have to go, Jax. We can't stay here anymore." I said.

It took him a minute to understand what I was getting at without me tipping the gunman off to me actually letting Jax know what was going on. I looked up at him again. Abel was at preschool, thank god and Brayden was sleeping. I sighed.

"I need you to come home, we need to leave soon," I said.

"I'm on my way baby, I love you," he replied.

"Love you too."

I turned my head as the guy pulled the phone away and hung it up. I waited to hear the engine of Jax's bike coming closer to the house. I knew he was going to come in armed and ready to fight. I was preparing myself to get out of the way and back to my baby and get him out of the house. It was only a few minutes and I heard more than one motorcycle engine getting closer to the house. Jax came flying in the door with his gun drawn, I ducked out from the other gun that was on me and raced for my son's room. Jax was taking care of it. There was only one guy in the house. I grabbed Brayden and managed to make it out of the house. Opie was outside in my driveway. He looked concerned when I came out the door with my son.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded. He helped me get into my car and escorted me back to the clubhouse. Tig had gone to get Abel from school. I was worried until Jax pulled into the lot. He came into the clubhouse looking furious. I looked at him.

"What the hell was she thinking?" he asked out loud.

"Who?" I asked.

"Tara."  
"What do you mean?"

"She wants me to be a part of her son's life who she named after my brother but she sends someone to kill my wife in front of me."

"He was there because of her?"

Jax nodded. I sank into my chair. I had known she was going to be trouble the moment I saw her at the hospital. She wanted Jackson back. She was going to stop at nothing to get him. I looked at Gemma who had just walked in the clubhouse.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"Nothing, mom. I'm handling it," Jax said.

"The fact that Tig just brought my grandson back on his bike tells me more than nothing is going on around here."

"Mom, I'm handling it. Leave it alone."

Jax stormed off down to his dorm room. I shifted my son and went to check on Abel. He was very excited that Uncle Tig had picked him up on the bike that day. He was bouncing off the walls about it and would not stop talking. It was cute that he was so excited even though he had no idea he had almost lost all three of us. I had the feeling it wasn't just me that Tara was after anymore. She wanted my kids out of the picture too, which meant that she was going to come after me, the baby, and Brayden until she was either dealt with or we were dead.

(Jax POV)

I sat on my bed thinking of where to go with this now. Tara was coming after the family I had started because she had left. I had to protect them from her. Piney was walking down the hall. I got up and followed him.

"Piney, can I send Julie and the kids up to the cabin?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure," Piney replied, "What's going on?"

"Tara is after her because of the kids and having me."

"That doesn't sound like the Tara we used to know,"

"I don't think she is the Tara we used to know anymore Piney."

He sighed. I went to find my wife. She was not going to be happy about this anymore than I was for having had to come up with it. I got her sent on her way with the boys and then I went to find Tara at the hospital. She smiled when she saw me.

"If you want me to be part of your sons life, stay the hell off my wife. Leave her alone. It is a package deal that you left behind. Now there is more to that. You have to learn how to deal with it or go back where you just came from." I snapped.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"That stunt at my house this morning with the hit man, I'm not stupid Tara. I don't want you back anymore. I love Julie and the kids. You will not change that and if anything happens to them, I will be coming after you for it."

She looked stunned that I had just called her out on it. I wasn't in the mood for her bullshit. I turned and left the hospital. Opie was back when I got back to the shop.

"They get settled ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, Julie's not too happy though," he said.

"I bet not,"

"What are you gonna do? You can't keep them at the cabin forever."

"I know I can't. I just need some time to get this shit figured out. I have already seen Tara and told her that her little plan isn't going to work. I love my wife."

"Good. Now we just gotta deal with her."

"Yeah, we do. Did you leave the prospect up there?"

"Yeah, stationed outside. Juice is up there too. He was doing a once thru on the woods and setting up cameras that will help us keep an eye on them."

"I don't want to have to keep an eye on them. I want to be able to bring them home."

"I know Jax. We will deal with this and bring them home."

*two weeks later*

Tara hadn't pulled anymore stunts so I brought my family home. We had been staying at the clubhouse again. I was looking for a new house that Tara wouldn't know about. Julie was better now that she was back where she could see me every day. I wasn't going to risk taking her out with me to look for the house. I had left her and the boys under Gemma's watchful eye. My phone rang. I pulled it out.

"Hello," I said.

"Jax, the test results are in," Tara said.

"And?"

"He's yours."

"Fine, we will work out a schedule for him to get to know his family. Until then don't contact me again."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I'm busy with stuff and I will call you later."

I was screwed now that Thomas was mine. I hadn't had much doubt, he looked just like me. I had only seen him twice. I went to talk to my mom. She could handle this one. I wasn't going to get my hands dirty. She was more than happy to come up with some kind of plan to deal with the whole thing.


	15. Chapter 15

(Julie's POV)

I heard Jax and Gemma talking about what to do about Tara. Gemma was ready for anything. I was not sure what they were going to do. I knew that Thomas was Jax's baby. I was upset by it but there was nothing I could do. Tara pissed me off completely. She had crossed a line that she should have never crossed. I was beyond pissed off about it. Jax came into the kitchen. I was feeding our son.

"Baby, you doing ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said.

"You sure?"

"Jax, leave it alone."

He sighed but leaned down to kiss the top of my head. I was keeping my focus on our son. I was not going to let him get to me today. I was still mad that it was because of him that I was going to possibly have to deal with Tara for the next 16 years. Jax sighed again. He grabbed his stuff and left the house. Abel came down the hall.

"Mommy, where's daddy going?" he asked.

"To work," I said.

"Can we go with him?"

"No, dear, we can't go with him today."

"Why not?"

"Abel, what did I say?"

He made a face and pouted.

"Abel, please go play," I said, "I'm trying to do laundry."

"Ok," he said.

The phone rang. I picked it up.

"Hello," I said.

"Baby," Jax said.

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right babe, I love you."

"I love you too babe."

"I'm sorry too. I know it's not your fault."

He sighed. I looked at my son who was standing in the doorway. Jax was not someone I could ever actually stay angry at. He was a good man. I sighed again.

"I love you Jax. I trust you more than you will ever know." I said.

"I know baby, I really do. I love you more than you will ever know honey. I hate that I've had to put you thru this stuff," he said.

"Jax, it's all right. I know you have a past."

"I know but that past shouldn't come back to bite us in the ass all the time."

"Jax, look at our lives. Of course it's going to come back to bite us."

He chuckled over the phone. I sat down on the bed and kept working on the laundry. Jax was funny about our family.

"How's Abel?" he asked.

"He's fine babe, he's worried about us but he's fine." I said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah babe, he's fine."

(Jax POV)

My phone started beeping. I sighed heavily.

"Babe, I gotta let you go." I said.

"All right, Jax," she said.

I flipped over to the other line.

"What's up?" I asked.

"It's dealt with, go pick up Thomas." Gemma said.

"What did you do?"

"Don't ask questions, just go get him."

I sighed heavily.

"I have the bike. I can't put him on the bike, mom." I said.

"I've got it," she sighed.

I was in the garage when she pulled up with Thomas. I went out to get him. He looked scared to death. I looked at Gemma.

"What the hell did you do?" I asked, pulling him from the back seat.

"Tara's going back to Oregon." She said.

"Without her son?"

"Yeah, without her son. She wants him with his dad. She has a family started in Oregon and wants to go back."

"Gemma don't bullshit me."

"Ok, so I convinced her to go back to Oregon. It's going to be ok."

I sighed heavily. I shifted Thomas. I wasn't sure that this was really something Tara would do. I looked at my son. He was staring at me. I handed him to Gemma and went to make a phone call.

"Hello," Tara sounded fine.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You are leaving Thomas here with me?"

"Yeah, I am leaving Thomas here with you."

"Why are you leaving him here?"

"He needs you. I have things to take care of in Oregon. I have to get back there. I know you will take care of our son."

"What did Gemma say to you?"

"Nothin, this has been my plan all along."

"Whatever, fine, don't tell me. I'll take care of Thomas. But know this, don't come back in a few years expecting to be part of his life."

"I won't, Jax. He's yours."

I got off the phone and called Julie back.

"Hello," she answered.

"Babe, Thomas is ours." I said.

"What do you mean?"

"Julie, Tara's leaving. Thomas is here at the shop with Gemma. He's not going back with her. She is leaving him here with us."

"What if she decides to come back later on?"

"Not gonna happen. She just talked to me. She's not going to come back after him ever."

Julie sighed heavily.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"He's here at the shop," I said.

"I have to get another car seat but I'll be there soon."

"Gemma has a seat we can take."

"All right."


	16. Chapter 16

(Julie's POV)

I got the boys ready to go. We headed into the shop. Abel looked at me. I sighed heavily.

"We are going to get your brother," I said.

"Thomas?" Abel asked.

He had heard us talk a lot about Thomas. I pulled into the shop lot. Gemma came out of the office with a little boy on her hip. I had Brayden in my arms. Jax came out of the garage.

"Mom, give me Thomas and let me handle this," Jax said.

"Fine," she replied.

Jax took Thomas. I stared at the boy. He looked just like Abel. I sighed.

"Baby, this is Thomas." He said.

"Hey handsome." I smiled.

Jax took us to the clubhouse to his room. We were there to deal with our family. Abel stared at the boy Jax was holding. I sighed. It all just seemed too easy. We sat on the bed and watched the three boys interact. I looked at Jax.

"Jax, this whole thing is too easy," I said.

"I know, I've been thinking that too," he replied.

"I'm happy that you are getting him but I'm very nervous and I'm gonna be on edge for a while with all this stuff."

"I hear you babe."

"I love you though so let's see how this works."

He nodded. I watched Thomas with Abel and Brayden. He was having fun. I looked back at my husband. He smiled. I sighed heavily. He leaned over and kissed me. He gave me that famous Jax Teller smile. I made a face at him.

"Don't you give me that I'm so cute face sir," I laughed.

"But it works all the time," he grinned.

I shook my head. He pulled me close to him. The boys were watching us. Abel had a smirk on his face. Thomas looked confused. Jax looked at him.

"What's wrong?" Jax asked.

"I want my mommy," Thomas said.

"Buddy, you are going to live with Daddy now."

"Where's mommy?"

"I don't know where she went bud."

He started to cry. I sighed again. Jax looked at me to handle it. I stared at the little boy for a minute. He was very upset.

(Jax POV)

I watched my wife slide off the bed to the floor. She never took her eyes off of Thomas. He was sobbing on the floor. She pulled him up into her arms and held him close. He sobbed into her shirt. She looked at me.

"It's all right sweetie. Daddy and I will take care of you," she said.

"I want my mommy." He sobbed.

"I know sweetheart."

"Why she go?"

"I don't know bud."

He sobbed until he fell asleep. She looked up at me. I was worried about this whole thing coming back to bite us in the ass. She got up with him in her arms. She laid him on the bed.

"Jax, I have to go. Can you keep the boys?" she asked.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"You know where I'm going."

"Babe, leave it alone."

"I can't leave it alone, knowing I have to deal with that every night."

"Jules you have to leave it alone. I don't know why she's doing what she's doing but you can't go there and make her stay. This is our chance."

"Jax, our chance is not about us."

She walked out the door, leaving me with three boys. I heard the vehicle leave. There was a knock on my door. I got up to answer it. My mother stood there looking at me.

"Where is she going?" she asked.

"To find out why Tara is ready to leave Thomas so suddenly." I said, like it was nothing.

"Oh, I could have told you that,"

"Well why didn't you?"

"I don't know, you didn't ask."

I sighed. She came walking in the room.

"Talk to me," I said.

"Tara and I were talking today. She's going thru some stuff and she wants to make sure her son is safe." Gemma said.

"Stuff like what?"

"She didn't go into details, Jax."

"That doesn't work for me."

"It has to work for you Jax."

She sighed heavily. I looked at the boys. Thomas was asleep on the bed. Brayden and Abel were playing on the floor. I looked at my boys.

"Daddy, when will mommy be back?" Abel asked.

"In a little bit buddy," I said.


	17. Chapter 17

(Julie's POV)

I walked into St Thomas looking for Tara. I wasn't going to put up with a kid who was abandoned by this mother. I wanted to get to the bottom of the issue. I looked at her. She looked surprised to see me.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Why are you leaving Thomas?" I asked her.

"I have to leave him."

"What did Gemma say to you?"

"Nothing, I have been thinking on this for a while."

"Don't toy with me."

"I'm not, I have been dealing with a lot of crap recently."

"Crap that's enough to leave your son."

"It's for his safety."

"What the hell is going on Tara?"

"They want to send me to Africa to help out over there. I can't take him with me because of the dangers over there. I had to find his father so I could go and do some good."

"You are giving him up to go to Africa?"

"I have to go to Africa."

She spilled the beans on a few threats she had gotten in Oregon before she came to Charming again. She was running from them because they had followed her into Charming. She was allowing us to take Thomas to get him out of the situation completely. I knew it was just going to take time for Thomas to get used to us. I left the hospital with a better understanding of why she was doing what she was doing.

I went back to the clubhouse. Jax had just gotten the boys some lunch. I sat back and watched him.

"Hey babe, how did it go?" he asked.

"I know why she's leaving," I said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, she's going to Africa to help out."

"Africa?"

"Yeah, that's what she said."

I sat down to relax a few minutes. The baby drained most of my energy. Jax looked at me. I was tired. Juice came out of the back.

"Want something to eat?" he asked.

"Dude, that would be awesome." I said.

"All right."

He brought me out a plate of food. I was glad that I was taken care of here.

*two months later*

Tara had been gone for two months now. Thomas was adjusting to our routine. I was busy with all three boys. I had doctor appointments once a month for this baby. I was excited about the baby coming.

"Honey, I'm home," Chibs called, coming in the door.

I laughed. He was with Jax. I was dealing with my youngest who was throwing a fit about something. He was going to be a year in two weeks. I was busy planning his first birthday party. He was getting into everything. Abel and Thomas were playing in the room they shared.

"How's the planning going?" Jax asked me.

(Jax's POV)

"It's going," she said.

I nodded, scooping up my son. Brayden was not happy. He squirmed and fussed. I looked at him for a second.

"Enough," I said.

He buried his face in my shoulder but stopped squirming. I looked at him. He was still crying but he wasn't trying to get me to put him down anymore.

"What are you trying to get him to do?" I asked.

"He needs a nap," she said.

I nodded. I sat down to rock him for a few minutes. He was exhausted and rubbing his eyes already. He was already falling asleep. Julie sighed. I got him to go to sleep and laid him in the crib. She put her arms around me.

"Thank you," she said.

"Yup," I smiled.

She kissed me. I followed Chibs out of my son's room.

"How's the party planning coming?" Chibs asked.

"Gemma send you over here for that?" Julie laughed.

"Yeah,"

"It's good. I will be ready in two weeks when he actually turns a year."

"Good, I can give her a good report."

"Whatever."

I was glad Gemma was so crazy about her grandkids but she sometimes made us completely crazy. I looked at Julie. She grinned. I checked on the other two boys.

"Hi daddy," Thomas said, looking up.

"Hi bud," I smiled.

"Daddy, are you home?" Abel asked.

"I'm gonna have to leave again in a few minutes,"

"Why?"

"Because I have to go back to work."

"Can't you stay home and play?"

"Not today bud. Maybe tomorrow I can stay home and play with you guys."

He made a face but nodded. I looked at my boys. I was glad that they were doing so well with the adjustment of having each other. Brayden was asleep which was a good thing. I went down to the kitchen. Chibs and Julie were having the party discussion. I put my arms around her.

"Hey beautiful," I smiled.

"Hi honey," she said.

Being with Julie was easy, she made every day worth it. I sighed. I hadn't given up on what we had going. She smiled. I couldn't have imagined being with someone who put me at ease the way that Julie did. She stared at me.

"You ok, Jackie boy?" Chibs asked.

"Yeah, just thinking," I said.

"About what?" Julie asked.

"How lucky I am. I have you and our three boys. I have this little one on the way. I couldn't ask for anything more than what we have."

She grinned.


	18. Chapter 18

(Julie's POV)

Jax was an awesome dad. I loved watching him with the boys. He was very attentive to whatever they were doing. He played with them not just watched them. He would be down on the floor playing whatever game they were playing. It was amazing to see the shift in him from big bad biker to dad when he came home. He still wasn't someone to mess with but he had a softer side when it came to the boys.

"All right, I have to get going. I'll see you later tonight babe," he said.

"Be careful," I told him.

"Always."

He kissed me and walked out the door. I heard the bike start and turned back to Chibs. We were discussing the menu for my son's first birthday.

"It's just hamburgers and hot dogs," I said.

"What about his cake?" he asked. "Juicey can make that."

"That's fine with me. I want two cakes. I'm giving him one to make a mess out of."

"Ok, I'll let him know."

"You know Gemma is going to kill us for planning this without her."

"That's why I'm not telling her."

I laughed. He smiled. The boys loved Chibs. It was great for them to have him as well as the other guys to look up to. I couldn't wait to see this baby. I was hoping for a girl this time. I had three boys now was the time for a girl.

"Mommy, Brayden won't leave me alone," Abel yelled from down the hall.

I went to get my youngest son. He was always terrorizing his older brothers. I heard the front door open.

"Who is here?" I called down to Chibs.

"Gemma," he called back.

I carried my squirming son down the hall. Gemma looked up at me and smiled. She didn't look quite right. I grew concerned immediately.

"What's going on Gem?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said.

"Gemma, don't lie to me,"

"It's nothing about us baby."

"Is it Jax?"

"No honey,"

"Then what is it?"

"It's Tara."

"What about her?"  
"She's dead."

I leaned back against the counter to keep myself from dropping my son. Chibs took him and got Jax on the phone. We definitely wanted to know we wouldn't have to deal with Tara but not like this. It didn't matter that she had left Thomas, she was still his mother. This was a big blow to our family.

"Julie, Jax wants to talk to you," Chibs said.

"Hey babe," I said, taking the phone.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Your mom just came over."

"Ok?"

"Tara's dead, Jax."

"What?!"

"I know I can't believe it either."

Gemma looked over as the boys came down the hall. I dropped to my knees in front of Thomas and hugged him tightly. He giggled and tried to push me away. He thought I was playing with him.

"Come home, Jax." I said into the phone.

"I'm on my way," he replied.

"Ok, I love you."

"I love you too."

(Jax POV)

This wasn't how I wanted Tara out of our lives. I never wanted her to die. She was my son's mother after all. Julie was already an emotional wreck with the pregnancy so I knew this wasn't making it any better. I looked at the guys.

"I gotta go," I said.

"Jax, the guy is right there," Clay said.

"Family Clay, this is an emergency."

"Fine, go."

I took off for my house, wondering what I was walking into. I wanted details on Tara's death. I didn't care who told me. I wanted to know who and why. I wanted closure so I wouldn't have to lie to my son about his mother. He was only two years old. This was going to be hard. I knew that she had been acting funny when she left. I had it in my head that it was something that we were going to have to retaliate against and would someday come knocking on my doorstep. I pulled up to the house in record time. Julie met me at the door. She had been crying. I put my arms around her and pulled her into the house.

"Does he know yet?" I asked.

Julie shook her head.

"How do you tell a two year old?" she asked.

"I don't know babe, but we have to do it," I said.

"I know."

"What happened?"

Gemma looked at me.

"It was Africa. They were trying to get to the clinic they had set up and they were ambushed." She said.

"So she really went to Africa?" I asked.

"Yeah, she was really in Africa."

The story about her joining a group called Doctors without Borders had been true. I couldn't believe that she was really gone.

"They are flying her body back on their next flight out of the country." Gemma continued.

"Why did they call you?" I asked.

"Tara put the clubhouse down as an emergency contact because we have so many numbers that change all the time. She wanted to be sure that if something did happen we wouldn't have to find out on the news. They called and gave me the information over the phone."

"So we have to plan her funeral?"

"I have the prospect looking into what all needs to be done. We will get her taken care of Jax. I promise. I may not have always liked her but she is my grandson's mother. She will get the respect for leaving him here and not attempting to take him with her. We will take care of her as if she is family."

I nodded. Mom was serious. She stood and hugged me. I still had one arm around my wife which led to the three of us in an embrace. I went to find my son. He was playing in his room with Abel. I watched them from the door way for a minute. I knew I was about to crush their happy little world and it made my heart ache. Abel noticed me first.

"Hi daddy," he said.

"Hi son," I replied.

"What's wrong?"

"Come here boys, I need to tell you something very important but very sad."

I sat on Abel's bed. The boys climbed up on either side of me. I put an arm around each one of them.

"Abel, do you remember Thomas' mommy?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"Something bad happened to her yesterday."

"What?"

"She was attacked by some bad guys when she was trying to help people far away from here."

"Did she get a scratch?"

"Honey, she got more than a scratch. Boys she went to Heaven."

"Will she come back?"

"No, she won't come back. She died Abel."

"I died once, I came back."

"I know Abel, Tara won't be coming back like you did."

"Why?"

"Because the bad men killed her."

"So is she with Jesus?"

"Yes,"

Abel sat there for a few minutes like he was trying to comprehend what I just said. Thomas was very quiet. I knew he wouldn't fully understand that she wasn't going to be coming home to him. He looked up at me. He put his little arms around my neck and started to cry. I had obviously underestimated his ability to understand this situation. Abel on the other hand wasn't as affected right now.

"Daddy," Abel said, very quietly.

"Yeah son," I asked.

"I love you, mommy, Thomas, and Brayden."

"We love you too son."

Abel looked at Thomas and put his arms around his younger brother. Thomas had big fat tears rolling down his face. I could feel my own tears welling up in my eyes. I heard my wife in the hallway. I knew she was there for most of my conversation with the boys.

"I'll take care of you Thomas," Abel said.

"I want my mommy," the younger boy cried.

"She is watching you from the sky now,"

I had obviously under estimated both boys on them understanding this information.

"I want her here," Thomas sobbed.

"I know. She is with Jesus, he's a pretty cool guy. I met him when I died." Abel told him.


	19. Chapter 19

(Julie's POV)

I stood in the hallway listening to Abel and Thomas. It was another three days before we were able to have the funeral. I had all three boys in black suits. Thomas was in Jax's arms for most of the funeral. The lunch after the funeral made things a little better for him. He was able to get some food and then take a nap. He woke up screaming like he had been doing for the last three days. He woke up from naps and at night from nightmares. I was the one that had to get up with him and be there for him. Most nights Jax wasn't even home. He was off doing something for the club every night. I wished he was home with us. I was doing this alone with three kids right now and the added pressure of the death was only making it worse. I wasn't sure we were going to make it thru this one.

"Babe, where are you?" Jax called coming in the house.

"Bedroom," I called back.

He came in the room and put his arms around me.

"Sorry I haven't been here much," he said.

"It's just another day in our lives, Jax," I replied.

"No it's not, I don't know what to say to my own son when he breaks down over his mother."

"It will get easier. We just have to keep letting him know we are there for him."

Jax nodded. He kissed me.

"Thank God we have you, I wouldn't be able to make it without you," he said.

"I know this," I replied.

Thomas walked in the room. He had just gotten up. It was the first time he hadn't had a nightmare. I was kind of surprised. He looked at me and put his arms up. I picked him up. He buried his face in my shirt.

"You ok buddy?" I asked.

He hugged me tightly. My belly was beginning to show from this baby. Jax was just watching us for a moment. Then he wrapped his arms around both of us.

"Hi daddy," Thomas said, looking up at him.

"Hi son," Jax smiled.

*4 months later*

Every day was a step in the direction of healing for Thomas. I had him talking to someone who was better equipped to help with what he was dealing with. Jax was now home every night and we were getting ready to have this baby. We had gotten lucky with Brayden not getting the family flaw but we weren't sure about this one. I was getting my girl and I couldn't wait. Everything in her room was pinks and purples. Jax had Gemma make her a hat just like all the boys had for coming home. She was going to be very loved.

(Jax POV)

I couldn't wait to meet my daughter. Julie and I were discussing names for her. She didn't have one yet. It was easier with the boys. We came up with Izabella Denise Teller. I was ready for her. I was welcoming the change from having the boys. Gemma wasn't sure we knew what having a girl would entail. We were up for the challenge.

"What's her name?" Donna asked.

"Izabella Denise," I said.

"I like that,"

"It's going to suit her perfectly."

Donna nodded. I looked at my wife. She looked absolutely beautiful pregnant with our baby. I loved seeing her pregnant. She was talking to my mother about something. I walked over to find out what they were talking about.

"Hey beautiful," I smiled.

"Hey," she grinned.

"What are you two ladies talking about?"

"Thomas."

"What about him?"

"Mom asked how he was doing with everything."

I nodded. My son was making great progress in his coping with Tara's death. I went out to check on the boys. They were busy playing on the swing set. Opie was pushing Brayden in the baby swing. It was so cute to see my boys having fun.

"Daddy, can we have a sandbox at home?" Abel asked.

"Of course we can," I said.

"Told you Thomas."

Thomas made a face at his brother. We were getting ready to celebrate his third birthday soon so I figured I would get the sandbox for that. Julie came outside. Her baby bump was really showing now. I couldn't help but stare at her. She walked over to me and put her arms around me. I smiled and kissed her.

"The boys want a sandbox," I said.

"Ok, so let's get them a sandbox," she replied.

"I was thinking about getting one for Thomas' birthday."

"No, that's not fair. I'm not getting one for his birthday so he can use the I got it for my birthday so it's only mine."

"Ok well then when do you want to get it?"

"I don't know, we will talk about it. I already got his birthday gifts though."

"You did? When did you have the time?"

"I got them the last time I left the kids with your mom."

"Oh."

She shook her head. I rubbed her growing belly. She smiled.


	20. Chapter 20

(Julie's POV)

Jax was excited about getting a daughter. I couldn't wait to see her little face. I was working out the details for Thomas' third birthday. Gemma was working on it with me. I had a lot of stuff to deal with and having three kids running around already made things complicated. I was very thankful for all of Gemma's help.

"Mommy," Abel said.

"What?" I asked.

"Is it Thomas' birthday?"

"Soon sweetie."

Abel nodded. I yawned. Gemma came thru the door. We were going over the menu for the party. I sighed. This was a kid's birthday party but every party was a production with Gemma. She held nothing back, particularly for her grandkids. I looked at Jax who just shook his head.

"I'll let you two ladies deal with that stuff. I am going to get a shower," he said.

"Yeah, I'll bet," I laughed.

"There you are," Gemma came down the hall.

"Hey Gem," I smiled.

"How's baby girl?"

"She's good, active."

"Good."

"How are things for you?"

"Oh you know same old same old."

I nodded. She and Clay had been having some tension between them right now. That was part of the reason she was constantly throwing herself into different projects for the kids. We had a swing set out back as well as the one at Teller-Morrow. She had gotten them a slip n slide. They had a sprinkler as well. It was great that they were so spoiled but they had so much crap that I couldn't imagine what she would get them next.

"Oh yea, I went shopping today and I got the boys a sandbox," she said.

"See Jax, this is why we didn't need to get them one," I laughed.

"What?"

"Nothing, I love that you spoil them."

She shook her head. I looked at the boys. They had heard sandbox and jumped up. They wanted to check it out. Jax sighed.

"The prospects are outback already putting it up. It's just a small one." Gemma said.

"Ok ma," Jax said.

The boys took off for the back door. I followed them with my husband. She had gotten them a sandbox shaped like a crab. They were super excited about it. They ran over to the prospects and watched them fill it with sand. I put my hand on my stomach as the baby began to kick. Gemma and Jax both put a hand on my stomach to try to feel the baby. I moved their hands so they could feel her moving. Jax just grinned.

"That never gets old," Gemma said.

"Oh at three in the morning it does," I said.

"She's a late one huh?"

"Very much so,"

"That's a typical SAMCRO kid."

"I wish she would quit. It makes it hard for me to sleep."

Jax went over to talk to the boys and the prospects. I went inside with Gemma to go over all the party details. Gemma had pretty much done all the planning for this one. I hadn't been sleeping much because of my baby girl. She was pretty active during the hours that I wanted to sleep.

(Jax POV)

I was outback with my boys. They were really excited about the new toy grandma had gotten them. I had an idea of what we should get the boys for Christmas this year. I was going to wait to run it by my wife when it was just us. She was busy with my mom dealing with things for my son's birthday now. I knew she had turned over the reins on the party to my mom so she could attempt to relax a little bit. Our daughter was giving her a rough time. Brayden's pregnancy had been a breeze for her. This one was battling it out with her all the time. The doctor didn't seem too concerned so she wasn't concerned yet. She had already been feeling some Braxton-Hicks contractions. It made me nervous.

"Daddy, look." Thomas had built a sand castle.

"Good job buddy," I smiled.

I looked at the two prospects. Miles and Phil were decent guys. I leaned back on the chair that was on my deck. They were down with the boys helping them play in the sand. I went to get a beer.

"Jax are you going to CaraCara tonight?" Miles asked.

"No, I don't really do the parties especially there. I'm home with my family." I said.

Miles nodded. He was really into the life of being SAMCRO. I had been there before I had Abel and before I had married Julie. She had really been the one to turn it around for me. I didn't feel the need to be around all those girls. I had my family at home and they were the ones who made life count.

"Julie would flip out on you for going huh?" Miles asked.

Phil elbowed him. I shook my head.

"It's not your business but no she wouldn't flip out on me. I just choose not to go because I have too much here." I said.

"Sorry," Miles said.

He looked like someone had just run over his dog. I just shook my head. CaraCara had held a certain thrill before my wife and kids but not so much now. I still had to go over there sometimes but there was no need tonight. I was going to stay home with my family and watch a movie.

"Daddy," Abel yelled.

"What?" I asked.

"Brayden's eating sand."

I got up to get my youngest son. He had a mouthful of sand. I wiped his mouth out which pissed him off.

"Well, son you can't eat sand. It's gross," I said.

He looked at me. I shook my head and made a face. Brayden was definitely the baby of the family. He was always doing something gross. I took him in the house. Julie looked up at me. I set my son on the counter by the sink.

"He's eating sand already," I said.

"Gross," she replied.

Brayden giggled. I cleaned him up and set him down to play. He went straight to the back door and watched his brother's out in the backyard. I went down the hall to get something from our room. I walked back out to see what the plans were for my soon to be three year old's birthday party.


	21. Chapter 21

(Julie's POV)

I had everything set for Thomas' birthday party. He was super excited about turning three. I was ready to see my baby girl. She was taking her sweet time. I was ready to see her.

*Thomas' birthday Party*

We were working on getting everything set up for the party. The guys would all be there for it as well as their families. Gemma had come over early to help me out. I was feeling the pain of my little girl growing. I had to sit down. Jax came out the back door and saw me sitting in a deck chair. He rushed to my side.

"You ok?" he asked.

I nodded, rubbing my belly trying to settle the baby back down. She had just kicked me in the lung. He stayed right there and watched me.

"I'm ok," I said.

"Maybe we shouldn't have this party," he told me.

I glared at him for even suggesting it. He chuckled.

"All right, we'll have this party," he said.

"I'm not taking Thomas' birthday away from him because your daughter doesn't know how to keep her feet out of my lungs," I told him.

"She's a butt already."

"Gets it from her daddy."

He laughed. I sighed heavily. He put his hand on my stomach and our little girl calmed down instantly. I shook my head.

"Definite daddy's girl right here," I said.

He grinned. I got up to go about working on things for the party. He grabbed my arm. I looked at him.

"Go relax, we can get this all together," he said.

"I'm fine, babe," I said.

"Just humor me please?"

I rolled my eyes but went in the house to relax. I was sitting on the couch when Gemma came in from the garage. She looked at me.

"You doing ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, Jax and the prospects are out working on the backyard," I said.

"Good, they need to do something productive."

"Yeah, Jax is worried about the baby."

"Why? What's going on?"

"She moves a lot and it's painful."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I constantly have a foot in my ribs."

She nodded. I sighed again. The boys ran thru the house with Brayden toddling after them. She scooped him up and planted a kiss on his forehead. He giggled until he realized his brother's had gone out the back door. Then he was mad. He stood at the backdoor and screamed. I got up to get him. He needed a nap before everyone got there. He kicked and screamed all the way down the hall. I was moving him to put him down when he got one good kick in to my belly that had me doubled over in pain. I almost dropped him as I put him in the crib.

"Gem," I yelled.

She came running down the hall. I looked at her. I could feel something soaking my shorts. Her eyes grew wide.

"Oh shit, hold on baby," she said.

She took off down the hall to get my husband. I sat down on the rocker in Brayden's room not really caring how bad it got ruined. Brayden was still standing in the crib screaming at the top of his lungs.

(Jax POV)

I was helping the guys set up tables when the back door opened.

"Jax, get your ass in here," my mom's panicked voice came out the door.

I ran for the house. I had no idea what was going on. The boys were outside. I could hear Brayden screaming the minute I got to the back door.

"It's Julie, something's happened," Mom said.

I ran down the hall to my son's room. Julie was sitting in the rocker in his room but I could see the blood already.

"Call an ambulance," I said, going to my wife's side.

"Jax, it's too early for her," she started to cry.

"What happened?"

"Mr. Attitude kicked me when I was putting him in the crib. He wanted to go outside."

I looked at my son who was still crying in the crib. He was lying down now and rubbing his eyes as his sobs turned into silence. I couldn't be mad at him. It wasn't like he did it on purpose. He had his mother's attitude. I turned my attention back to Julie. She sighed heavily. I knew she was in pain. The paramedics showed up and she was rushed to the hospital. I followed on my bike. Mom left the prospects in charge of the kids and followed in her car. I wasn't letting the ambulance get too far from me.

We met up at the hospital. They were doing an ultrasound to see how the baby was doing. I was right by her side. She was hooked to at least three monitors. I was trying to hide my concern so I wouldn't freak Julie out. She looked at me.

"She can't come today," she said.

"Baby, I don't know what to tell you, she is going to come no matter what you say," I replied.

Her eyes welled up with tears. I sighed heavily. I was scared to death but I couldn't let her know that. I had to be strong for her and my daughter. Our baby girl was born weighing 3lbs 4oz and went straight to the NICU. Julie looked at me after the rushed her out.

"Go with her Jax, keep her safe," she said, her eyes starting to close.

The doctor's and nurses were rushing around and kind of in a panic which freaked me out. They actually kicked me out of the room telling me to go see my daughter while they worked on my wife. I was there to see her actually pass out. My mom was in the hallway. I collapsed next to the door letting my fear take over. I was scared to death to lose Julie. I had already lost Tara, I couldn't handle losing Julie too.

(Gemma's POV)

I watched my son get basically shoved out of Julie's room. He hit his knees just outside the door with his head in his hands. I went to his side, not knowing what was going on. I was able to see my grand-daughter as they whisked her by to the NICU. I put my hand on his back, causing him to jump. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

"I can't lose her mom," he said.

"I know son, we won't lose her. It will all be all right," I told him.

"Mom, she is losing blood and they don't know how to stop it."

"What?"

"She passed out. They kicked me out to work on her."

I looked thru the window of the room and saw all the doctors and nurses surrounding my daughter in law. I couldn't believe this had all spawned from one little kick from a one year old child. I knew something more had to be going on. I was going to get to the bottom of it.


	22. Chapter 22

(Jax POV)

The doctor walked out of the room. He looked as tired as I felt. I stared at him waiting for some kind of answer.

"She's stable now, Mr. Teller," he said.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The placenta had already begun to separate from the uterus. That's what caused the labor and the baby to be born today. The kick you said she received only helped it separate."

"But the baby is all right? She is going to be all right?"

"We are giving her a blood transfusion but yes, your wife should be all right."

"And the baby?"

"I have to talk to the NICU doctor's before I can give you an answer on that one."

I nodded. My mom had walked down to the NICU already.

"Can I go see my wife?" I asked.

"Of course," the doctor said.

I walked into my wife's room. She was sleeping thanks to a sedative that she was given to keep her still. I put my hand in hers and kissed her forehead. This was way different than Brayden's birth had been. His birth had been happy and exciting. He had been a healthy baby. We had been excited to hear that he didn't have the family flaw. It had skipped him. I was so happy that he wasn't sick like Abel had been. I was glad that we were going to be able to take him home with us.

"Baby," Julie was awake.

"Hey sweetie," I smiled.

She stared at me. I kissed the back of her hand. She looked worn out. I sighed.

"How's our baby?" she asked.

As if on cue the doctor came into the room and gave us an update on the baby.

"Mr. and Mrs. Teller, your baby is doing well. She is going to undergo the testing on her heart that I'm sure you are familiar with," he said.

"Thank you," I said.

"Can I see her?" Julie asked.

"We want to give you some recovery time but I can have one of the nurses bring you a picture," he told her.

"Thank you."

The doctor nodded. He walked out of the room. I looked at my wife again. She stared at me.

"Jax, what happened?" she asked.

"Your placenta was detaching itself." I said. "Brayden kicking you only helped it along."

"I can't believe that all this is happening."

"I know sweetie. She's here now and we are going to raise her the best we can."

"I love you Jackson."

"I love you Jules."

She sighed.

(Julie's POV)

The nurse brought me a picture but I didn't get to see my daughter until the next day. I was so excited that I got to see her. She was beautiful. The test came back negative for the family flaw which had Jax and I over the moon. He was so glad that he hadn't passed it on to any of the kids but Abel. He stared at our daughter as I held her. She was perfect in every single way.

"Mommy's little angel," I smiled.

"She's perfect," Jax grinned.

"Yeah she is."

"Gemma's gonna bring the boys up to see you when our little girl is doing better."

"She's just tiny babe, but I predict great big things for this baby girl."

"I hear you baby. Our kids will have the world at their feet."

I grinned. Jax was very optimistic with this one. He hadn't been this optimistic in quite a while because of the many things going on in the club. I could only be supportive and stand beside him with everything he did.

"Julie, I gotta get to work," he said.

"All right baby," I smiled.

"I'll come back up afterward."

"Sounds good."

I kissed him and watched him walk out. He was so sweet. Clay and Gemma came up with the boys later on that same day. The boys were fascinated with their baby sister. Thomas didn't even care that she was born on the day we had his birthday party. He was so excited that he now had a little sister that everything else was pushed to the side.

"Mommy, she's tiny," Abel said.

"She's getting a small start, just like you did sweetheart," I said.

"Me?"

"Yeah honey, you were smaller than she is."

Abel looked surprised. He put his arms around me. I kissed the top of my son's head. I was glad that no one would take my children away from me. They were so cute. I looked at Gemma. She smiled.

"She is perfect," she said.

"I just hope she gains weight fast so I can take her home to be with her family," I sighed.

"She's a Teller honey, they don't know how to give up."

I nodded. She grinned. I stared at my daughter thru the glass. She was asleep in the basinet with her pink and purple SAMCRO hat. She was so cute. I loved my baby more than anything in the world. She was a very loved baby. The guys from the club had all come down to see her already. The nurse had said only family which led me to tell her that every one of them was family.

My daughter spent the next month in NICU. Izabella Denise Teller was not one to give up for anything. She gained weight slowly but came home at 5lbs 4oz. She was perfect. Jax and I picked her up from the hospital and took her home. She still looked so tiny in the infant seat. We had a huge party at our home for her homecoming. I carried her into the house only to be greeted by three little boys and a bunch of people.

"Welcome home little one," Chibs said, cradling my daughter.

Thomas didn't leave the side of anyone holding our little girl. He was definitely going to be the protective one of her. It was very cute to watch him. He gave dirty looks to people who joked about taking her home. I was glad when everyone went home. I was glad when it was just our family in our house again. I put the boys to bed. Jax was sitting on the couch holding our daughter. She was asleep in his arms. I smiled.

"I love you, Mr. Teller," I said.

"I love you Mrs. Teller," he smiled, looking up at me.

"I can't believe we have four kids in this house."

"I can't either. I think we need a bigger house."

I rolled my eyes. He grinned.


	23. Chapter 23

(Jax POV)

I loved having my family at home. We definitely needed more space though. I knew that having four kids growing up in this house was not going to happen. The three boys were already sharing a room and we needed to end that. Izabella had her own room and then my wife and I had the master bedroom. I was ready to find something else.

"Babe, what are you thinking of?" she asked.

"We need a bigger house. I'm trying to come up with some way to get one," I said.

She nodded. She didn't question much of what I did. She would rein me back in if she thought I needed it and she called me on bullshit I knew I shouldn't be doing. She was a damn good woman and I knew that I had gotten lucky. She didn't try to change me or constantly keep me in check. She was like having conscience for once and I was glad for it. I had four kids to think about now. I couldn't be selfish anymore because it wasn't just my ass on the line. I had to answer to them. I set two of the prospects in motion to find my wife and I a bigger place and scope out some reality companies. There were only two of them in Charming but it gave them something to do.

"Jax, check this one out," Julie said.

She handed me the listing. It was an amazing house. I looked at her knowing that she was in love with it already. I made the appointment to go see it.

Two days later we stood in the house that Julie thought was perfect. She was going thru all the things she could do with it. The kids would all have their own rooms as well as having an extra guest bedroom. I was stunned by the amount of space we would have for the kids to grow up in. She looked at me and shifted our daughter. I knew trying to talk her out of it was pointless so we started talking price.

We signed the paperwork a month later and started getting everything ready to move. Julie had enlisted everyone from the club's help with the move. She had marked everything as clearly as possible on the boxes and put signs on the doors indicating which room belonged to which kid. Izabella was the closest to us. Our room was at the end of the hallway with Izabella on the left and Brayden on the right side. Thomas was next to Brayden and Abel had the room next to Izabella. The only room that would still need to be furnished was the guest room which was on the first floor of the house.

"Julie, this house is beautiful," my mom said.

"You think that now, wait til I'm done with it," Julie grinned.

My mom had always had more respect for Julie than any other girl I had ever been with. I was not really sure why that was but I was glad for it. Julie was unpacking the kitchen. I was helping unload boxes from the truck. The boys were being kept busy by Phil. They loved messing with him.

"Babe, take a break," Julie said.

"Nope, I want to get it done, I want this truck out of my sight," I replied.

I was exhausted but it was going to be done tonight so we could start unpacking everything and getting it situated in the house. Julie went to check on the progress of the kids rooms. She had Chibs and Bobby setting up Izabella's room with the crib and dresser, Tig and Clay were in Brayden's room, Happy and Juice were in Thomas' room, and Opie and Piney in Abel's room. It was funny to hear the conversations coming out of each room.

"That's not how that goes," Opie said.

"Shut up, it's not like I haven't put together a bed before. I set your room up," Piney snapped.

"When I was five. That bed fell apart."

I chuckled listening to them from the doorway. Opie looked at me.

"Screw you Jax," he laughed.

I stepped across the hall to check on Happy and Juice. They were almost done. Thomas' room was looking pretty good. Izabella's was coming along nicely as well. I stopped in the doorway of Brayden's room. Tig and Clay were staring at the directions to Brayden's toddler bed. I watched for a minute trying not to laugh.

"Having issues guys?" I asked.

"What the hell is this thing?" Tig demanded.

"Julie wants him out of the crib. It's a toddler bed."

"Are you crazy, you know this means he can walk about the house whenever he wants to right?"

"Yeah I know, it's up to us as parents to teach him when to stay in bed."

Tig nodded. I shook my head. I looked at the directions. They looked like a foreign language.

(Julie's POV)

I went upstairs to check on the guys. I came across Jax, Clay, and Tig staring at the directions for a toddler bed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Look at this," Jax said.

I walked in the room. He handed me the directions. I looked then flipped them over.

"Try the English side, dorks," I laughed.

Jax ran a hand thru his hair.

"Wow, I need some sleep," he said.

"Obviously," I grinned.

He rolled his eyes. I sighed. Jax was crazy. He looked exhausted though. I knew that it wouldn't be much longer and he would be ready for bed. I left the room leaving them to figure out the English directions. I loved being able to walk down the hall and hear everyone talking and joking with each other. It had been way to long. I told Jax our next step was to get a dog. I couldn't wait. We wouldn't have one of those little yippy dogs. I wanted a pit bull that I knew would be my child's best friend and would protect my child at all costs. I had grown up with pit bulls and I loved them. Jax wanted to wait a bit on the dog.

"Starting to feel like home?" he asked.

"Yeah it is," I smiled.

I went to get my daughter from her infant seat. She was fussing. I picked her up. She had her daddy's blue eyes. I couldn't wait to see if she was going to be blonde like him and her brothers. I had been a blonde until I was about 15. Then my hair got darker. It wasn't dark brown but it was light brown with a lot of sun kissed highlights. Jax was staring at me. I looked at him funny.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing, just watching how beautiful you look with our daughter," he smiled.

I leaned over and kissed him. He grinned. I was getting tired. Moving was hard work. I had a lot to still unpack and I was going to take advantage of the help while I had it. We had pizza that night for dinner because it was easy. Gemma wasn't too thrilled that we hadn't let her cook but simple was the way to go for the night. Everyone helped out and ate and had fun before they went home. I was glad that I had them all for family.

My parents had made me choose between them and Jax. I had chosen Jax. I wouldn't give up my family for anything. My parents had never met either of my kids and it bothered me somewhat. Jax was always trying to convince me to go over and talk to them but I refused to do it. I wasn't going to allow people to become part of my children's lives to hear them bad mouth my husband.

"Honey, you have to call them. It's going to eat at you if you don't," he said.

"Nope, I'm glad we moved so now they won't even know where we are," I told him.

"Julie,"

"Jackson, let it go."

I went to the kitchen to get something to drink. I had Izabella in my arms. She was asleep finally as were the boys. Everyone had gone home, now it was just us. I looked at Jax. He sighed heavily and walked out of the kitchen. I didn't want to hear it anymore. I wasn't going to call them and I wasn't going to deal with them.


	24. Chapter 24

(Jax POV)

Julie was going to regret it if her parents never met our kids. I knew this and I knew I was going to have to be the one to do something about it. I went for a ride and drove by their house. Her mother was outside in the flower bed. I pulled into the driveway.

"Can I help you?" she said standing up.

"Ma'am, I'm Jax Teller, I married your daughter," he said.

"Julie?"

"Yes."

"How is my daughter?"

"She's wonderful ma'am."

"Are you the reason she hasn't been around?"

"I don't know honestly."

A man walked out the front door with a rather nasty look on his face.

"You get the hell out of here, you took my daughter and you will not get claws on my wife," he snapped.

"Sir, Julie is fine. I don't know what happened with you all but she is fine," Jax said.

"I told her to stay the hell away if she was going to be a part of your little gang."

"Sir, we are a motorcycle club. Nothing more than that and mechanics. I can promise you that Julie is not involved in anything illegal."

That wasn't technically lying. Julie was kept away from the illegal stuff because someone had to be there to take care of the kids.

"Bullshit, I am not stupid. I know that there are illegal things going on within that place and I don't want it around my family," he snapped again.

"So you would rather lose your daughter completely and the four grandchildren that go along with that?" Jax asked, calmly.

"Four?"

The mans demeanor changed at the mention of the kids. He stared at Jax.

"There were only two when she left," he said, softly.

"We have had two more. She has taken on my two boys, Abel and Thomas and we have had two kids, Brayden and Izabella," Jax told them.

"She made the choice to leave."

"You made her choose between us. She should have never had to. I'm her husband and you're her parents."

He just stared at Jax. Julie's mother stood from where she was working in the flower bed.

"What do you mean made her choose?" she asked, eyeing her husband.

"I gave her a choice. The motorcycle gang or her family." He said, softly.

"You ran my daughter off. What the hell is wrong with you? She never should have had to make that choice."

"Honey, those guys bring nothing but violence and death everywhere they go. I couldn't be around knowing Julie was dealing with that."

"I don't even want to hear it."

She turned to Jax.

"Take me to my daughter," she said.

He nodded. She followed him in her car to Teller-Morrow. Julie had just gotten there with all four kids. Jax was worried about what would happen when Julie saw her mother.

(Julie's POV)

I smiled when I saw my husband pull up until I saw the car behind him. I had no idea who it was until they got out. I couldn't believe he had brought her here. My smile faded and I turned to go to the office. My daughter was sleeping in the bouncer on the floor. The boys were playing on the swing set with Juice and Happy. I sighed. Jax walked into the office.

"I need you for a minute," he said.

"No you don't, how dare you bring her here Jax," Julie snapped.

"Hear her out."

"Why should I?"

"Julie she didn't know what your dad did. She found out today and she was pissed."

"Jax why are you doing this?"

"Because you need that side of your family as well as my side of the family. It's not right that they don't get to see the kids."

I sighed but walked out to the lot. The boys were playing still. Jax followed with my daughter in his arms. I stared at my mother. I hadn't seen her since I told my dad I was having a baby. Now I had four babies to raise. They were my angels. I loved them more than anything. Jax was watching me.

"Mother," I said.

"Oh my god, Julie," she had tears in her eyes.

It pained me to see her in pain. I was beginning to believe that she had no idea what my father had done those few years ago.

"Julie, I didn't know what he did. He was just angry. I'm so sorry that he made you pick between Jax and us. That should have never happened," she said.

I nodded, keeping my guard up. She looked over my shoulder at Jax. He had Izabella in his arms.

"Julie, you're a mommy?" she asked.

"Four times over, I took on two and had two of my own," I said.

"Oh my goodness."

"That's why he made me choose. I told him I was having Jax's baby and he said it was either Jax or my family. Jax and Abel were already my family so it was a no brainer honestly."

"I understand completely honey. I had to make the same choice years ago when I was pregnant with your brother."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you ever wonder why you never met your grandparents on my side?"

"Yeah but we were always told they were dead."

"No they weren't. They didn't like your father and made me choose between them. I always swore that I wouldn't do that with my own children. I wouldn't be my parents. Your father made us those parents."

I sighed again. She moved forward. I put my arms around my mother for the first time in three years. It felt good to know that she missed me.

"Do you want to meet the boys?" I asked.

"Of course," she said.

I walked her over to the play area where they were. Happy and Juice looked at me funny. I smiled.

"Juice, Happy this is my mother, Janette," I said.

"Hi," they said.

"Hi," my mother replied.

"Mom, these are my boys, Abel, Thomas, and Brayden," I said.

"They are beautiful."

"Thank you."

Jax walked over with my little girl.

"This is your grand-daughter Izabella," I said.

"She's beautiful Julie," my mother said.

I smiled. I loved my kids and my husband. I wouldn't let anyone come between us. They were the reason I existed.


	25. Chapter 25

(Jax POV)

Watching Julie with her mother made me feel better. She needed that side of the family just as much as she needed my side. I wanted them there just in case something ever happened and I had to go away for a long time. She would definitely need the help. I shifted my daughter. She was asleep in my arms. I smiled.

"I'm gonna take her inside," I said.

Julie nodded. She was busy with the boys anyway. Brayden was throwing a fit about something that the older two wouldn't let him do. Juice and Happy looked confused on how to handle it. The boys could be very difficult when they wanted to be. Julie was great when it came to dealing with them. I was always impressed.

"How's it going out there?" Gemma asked.

"Good, actually," I said.

"Good, she needs them as well as us."

"I know mom."

Julie looked like she was in an intense conversation with our oldest boy. Abel had hit a stage where he had to have everything explained to him. It drove us all crazy but we dealt with it. He would grow out of it but we had three more to go thru the exact same stages. I smiled.

"She's really good with those kids," Gemma said.

"Yeah she is, I have a good woman out there. Definitely different than what I have ever been used to," I agreed.

"Yeah you do. I'm glad that you found her."

I was glad that I found someone that my mom wouldn't nitpick at all the time. She got along with Julie. I put my daughter in a bouncer that was kept in the office. I went back out to the garage to work on the bike that I was dealing with.

(Julie's POV)

I was glad that Jax had brought my mother to the shop. I hadn't wanted anything to do with them after the confrontation with my father about my husband. My mother hadn't had anything to do with it but I was glad that she was here now. Abel and Thomas were fighting with Brayden over something stupid. I ended up having to explain to him that his younger brother was just trying to be like the two of them. Abel asked a million questions a day. It was crazy. I was glad that I had my kids.

"Mommy, he's making me crazy," Abel whined.

"Abel, honey, Brayden looks up to you. He wants to be like you, that's why he is following you around," I said.

"Why can't he follow one of them?"

He pointed at Juice and Happy. I couldn't help but smile.

"He is following you because you are his big brother, silly," I smiled.

Abel made a face but ran off to play again. I sat down to talk to my mother about the last few years.

"I still can't believe that my little girl is now a mother of four," she said.

"It's been a wild ride, honestly," I said.

"Why haven't you been around?"

"Dad told me not to come back if I chose to be with Jax."

She shook her head.

"I'll talk to him tonight," she said.

"Mom, it's really not a big deal anymore," I said.

"It is a big deal, I have missed out on my grandson's first year. We missed your wedding, and I have a grand-daughter I have never met. I also have two stepgrandson's that I didn't know I had until today when Jax showed up at our house."

I sighed heavily. She was not happy about this and I was sure my dad wouldn't live this one down. She wasn't going to let it go.


	26. Chapter 26

(Jax POV)

Julie's mother stayed until we closed up shop and then she followed us back to our house. I was glad that she was getting to make up the time with her daughter and the kids. Julie made dinner while I entertained the three boys. Janette was holding Izabella. I walked into the kitchen to see how things were coming along.

"What's for dinner tonight, beautiful?" I asked.

"Steak, potatoes and gravy, green beans, and rolls," she said, shooing me out of her way.

"Sounds delicious."

I walked back out to the living room as it got loud for a minute. The boys were yelling at the television set. I shook my head.

"Boys, not so loud," I said.

"Sorry," Abel grinned.

I went down the hall to get things ready for their baths after we ate. I had to make sure they had towels and pajamas. I tried to help Julie a lot when I was home because I felt guilty for having to go on runs and leave her with all of them. She was a great mom and she did it all without complaining even though I knew she wanted to sometimes. I was getting Brayden's pajamas when Julie yelled that dinner was done. I went down to help her with the plates and get the boys settled into their chairs at the table.

"Come on Bray, let's get you in your chair," I smiled.

I put him in the high chair. He giggled. That boy was all about his food. He always had been a big eater. He was on 8oz bottles by the time he was three months old. I gave him a plate of food. He started to eat. We got the other boys eating. I watched my wife eat one handed so that she could hold our daughter in the other arm. I shook my head. She was amazing as a mother. Her mother was talking about making plans to take her shopping for the kids. She was an excited grandma with four kids to spoil.

"Brayden don't throw that," Julie said.

"No," he yelled.

"Brayden," I said.

He made a face at me. I sighed. She looked at me and shook her head. I loved my kids but they had my ornery streak. Julie sighed heavily. She shifted our daughter.

"So what time tomorrow?" Julie asked her mother.

"Whatever time works for you," her mother said.

"I'm going to have Gemma keep the boys. I don't want to have to drag all three of them all over the place."

Janette nodded. She looked at my boys. They were eating but they were goofing off as well. I knew that my wife was getting frustrated.

"Abel Jackson Teller, that's enough," I said, "We are eating our food not playing with it."

Thomas had a mashed potato mountain on his plate.

"Thomas John Teller, that's not what we do with our potatoes," I said.

He looked at me and smiled. I shook my head. Brayden was still being a butt. I shook my head.

"Brayden Harrison Teller, that's not all right," she said.

He scrunched his face up again. I was waiting on the wail that would come from this one. He threw something else from his plate. I got up and took him from his seat.

"I guess you're done," I said.

(Julie's POV)

I knew as soon as Jax pulled Brayden from the table, he was done with their antics. He left his dinner on the table and took Brayden down the hall. I heard the bath water start and Brayden start screaming. My mom looked at me.

"This has become normal since the baby came home," I said.

"Typical for a kid who is no longer the baby," she said, "I remember how your brother was when we brought you home."

I shrugged. The other two had seen their brother removed from the table and had stopped what they were doing. I looked down at my daughter who was asleep in my arms still. I sighed. My kids were good kids. They were just being kids but they were also showing off because my mom was there. They weren't completely used to Jax being home for dinner either. There was always something going on that he would either be late or he wouldn't come home at all or they would call in the middle of dinner and he would have to leave. It was annoying but it was our life. I heard Jax with our son down in the bathroom. After we ate, my mom went home. The boys finished their dinner. I went down to check on Jax and Brayden. Jax was sitting on the closed toilet seat watching our son play in the water.

"You ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just hate that they don't listen," he said.

"Honey, they're kids, and they are still adjusting to their little sister and someone new was here for them to show off to."

"I know."

"It's all right babe, just finish him up and put him to bed. He didn't get much of a nap today."

Jax nodded. I kissed my husband's head. He looked at me.

"How'd you get to be so smart?" he asked.

"Hey don't knock me just cuz I'm young sir," I laughed.

He grinned and pulled me into his lap. I kissed him. He looked at our little boy who was splashing away in the bathtub completely happy. I sighed.

"Mommy," Abel yelled.

I got up and went to deal with our oldest two boys. Abel was staring at the front door. I stopped behind my son. He was staring at a woman in the doorway. I looked at her funny.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"I'm looking for Jackson Teller," she said.

"Who is looking for my husband?"

"My name is Wendy."

I stared in shock for a moment as it registered to me who she was. I looked down at Abel. "Go get daddy," I said.

He ran down the hall. I sighed heavily. I couldn't believe that more crap was coming down on us with yet another one of Jax's ex's standing in my doorway. Jax came down the hall.

"What's up babe?" he asked.

I motioned to the door. Jax looked over and his jaw dropped.


	27. Chapter 27

(Jax's POV)

I stared at Wendy.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.

"I want to see my son," she said.

"You haven't had a son here in years, why the hell come back now?"

"I want my son."

"I'm not kidding, you have no son here. We were able to file abandonment and Julie adopted him."

"Why the hell would you do that to me?"

"I want him to have a family. He wasn't getting that with you not around."

She sighed. I stared at her. She just stared back at me. I didn't know what I was going to do about this whole thing. I knew she wasn't going to make life easy for me.

"To think I followed Tara and took her out just to have to deal with another bitch in your life," Wendy said.

"What?" I asked.

She turned and stalked off down my walkway. I looked at my wife. She looked stunned. I took off out the door and grabbed Wendy's arm.

"What the hell did you just say?" I asked.

"That story they told you about Tara's death was bullshit. I killed her." Wendy snapped.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not kidding. She was in my way. I made sure she was scared. She never made it to Africa."

"What the hell did you do?"

"I killed her. Duh"

I couldn't believe it. I didn't even know what to do about this news. I just stood there while she walked away. I was going to bring it to the club to figure out what they thought we should do. I was worried about Julie and the kids now. I wasn't going to leave them home with her around now. I wasn't that stupid.

"What did she say?" Julie asked when I walked back in the house.

"She killed Tara." I said.

"What?"

"She says she killed Tara. That she never made it to Africa."

"What are we going to do, Jax?"

"I don't know yet honey. I know that we aren't going to let you sit here with her out there. You are going to be where I can keep an eye on you until I deal with all of this."

"Jax, I'm supposed to be shopping with my mom tomorrow."

"Shit,"

She stared at me. I didn't know what to do about this. She looked at me. She grabbed her phone and went to call her mom. I grabbed her arm before she could actually dial it.

"I'll figure this shit out. You just started talking to your mom again. Take the baby and go shopping with her. I'll send someone to protect you all," I said.

"Jax, I don't want them mixed up in all this shit," she sighed.

"They won't be, I promise,"

"All right."

She sighed heavily. I pulled her to me.

"I promise nothing will happen to you," I said.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too."

(Julie's POV)

I had faith in my husband but I was scared to death for me, my mother, and my daughter. I didn't know what Wendy was capable of especially if she had killed Tara and no one in Charming knew about it. We weren't a very big town so she had to of done it outside of town. I just didn't understand how they managed to make it look like she had been killed in Africa. No one had reported that she didn't show up there. I was very confused about the whole thing.

"Come on, let's go to bed," Jax said.

I put our daughter to bed and followed him to our room. He checked on the boys while I was putting Izabella down for the night. I sighed. He looked at me funny.

"You ok?" he asked.

I looked at him like he had lost his damn mind.

"Are you kidding me right now, Jax?" I asked.

"I'm sorry," he said.

I shrugged. I didn't know what else to tell him. We had our kids and that was the end of it. No one could take that away from us. I just worried about the kids and the drama and everything coming crashing down on my family. Jax pulled me close to him after we got into bed. I buried my face into his chest. He kissed the top of my head.

"I will take care of all of this, I swear," he said.

"I know babe," I replied.

"Just give me some time."

I nodded. He ran his fingers thru my hair and pulled me up to look at him. I stared into those eyes that I knew so well. He kissed me.

"Don't start panicking over this until you have to," he said.

"Jax, she obviously wants you and the boys," I said.

"She's not getting either of us. She's my past. You are my present and future, I promise you that."

I nodded again. He kissed me again.

"Get some sleep babe," he said.

I snuggled up next to him and closed my eyes. He held me as we both fell asleep.


	28. Chapter 28

(Jax POV)

I woke to the sound of breaking glass. I opened my eyes and sat straight up. I knew which room it was coming from. I shot out of bed and down the hall. Julie wasn't far behind me. I flipped on the light in my infant daughter's room. The window was busted. I knew who had done it. She had tried to be quiet about it. I grabbed my infant. We got the boys up and headed for the clubhouse. I was done with all this shit. We were supposed to have had security in the house we were in. That was why we moved there. It was obviously having some kind of issue that I intended to have resolved immediately. I wanted my family safe first. Julie was shaken up. This wasn't going to help the case I had plead to her before we went to sleep.

"What the hell happened?" Chibs asked.

"What?" I asked.

"You're bleeding."

I hadn't even noticed that my arm was bleeding. He took my son from me. The boys had fallen asleep again in the car. I had carried in Brayden. He was completely passed out in my arms. I let Chibs take him so he could check out my arm. I had Phil go out and help Julie bring the other three in. I was already exhausted. Julie carried in the infant seat with our daughter in it. She was asleep again. I let out a breath I had been holding once Phil came in with both Abel and Thomas in his arms.

"Take them to my room," I said.

"What happened Jackie boy?" Chibs asked again.

"Wendy happened,"

"What the hell do you mean?"

"She broke my daughter's window in an effort to find and take Abel."

"I thought she was gone."

"Me too. At least until she popped up tonight at my front door."

"Jesus,"

"Yeah, I guess she killed Tara."

"I thought Tara died in Africa."

"According to crazy Wendy, she never made it to Africa."

Juice was already on the phone waking up Clay and Gemma. I knew he was going to be pissed and my mother was going to be on a rampage. I looked at Brayden who was sound asleep on one of the leather couches.

"They are on their way," he said.

I nodded.

"How pissed are they?" I asked.

"Didn't ask honestly," he said.

I went up to check on my wife and kids. Julie was working on getting the baby settled again after taking her out of the infant seat. I stood in the doorway watching her. She glanced back at me.

"Jax, they're here," Juice said.

"Damn, that was fast," I said.

"Yeah it was."

I stared at my wife for a minute. She turned back to our daughter. I sighed. I walked down the hall to see what the plan was. Clay was staring at me. I had my arm bandaged where I had messed with the window before we left.

"What the hell happened to you?" my mother asked first.

"Wendy's back," I said.

"What do you mean, back?"

"I mean she showed up at my door tonight. How she even found the house is beyond me."

"What the hell?"

"She's deranged, Mom. She said she killed Tara."

"What?!"

"Yeah, said she wants Abel and was pissed off. Said she killed Tara for nothing since there was someone else in my life already."

"Jesus, how are Julie and the kids?"

"She's in my room getting Bella back to sleep,"

"I'll go check on her."

I nodded. Clay called for church. We all went in and sat around the table.

(Julie's POV)

I was trying to calm my daughter down. I was terrified now that she had tried to break into our home. I was more worried about my kids than anything. The boys were all three asleep. I rocked Izabella. Gemma appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, you doing ok?" she asked.

"Do I look ok?" I asked her.

"No you look like a terrified mother who just had their house broken into."

"Well I am."

"Understandably so."

"I just don't get why she is back all of a sudden. She was gone for four years."

"Actually it's only been two. She came back when Abel was two years old for like a week and then left again."

"How was Jax able to file abandonment then?"

"She was gone for another year and coming back to Charming for a week does not constitute being a parent to that boy."

"Oh."

"Jax is going to do whatever it takes to keep you all safe."

"I know he will. I trust my husband. I promise you that. I just don't know how to feel about having my house broken into by some crazy junkie that he used to be married to."

"I hear you honey. It will be ok. We will get it figured out."

I wasn't so sure it was that easy. I now had a window to replace and a security system to fix. I was pissed that it hadn't worked. I was scared of what could have happened to my daughter. I had a million things running thru my mind and it was terrifying.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep? Jax will be in after they figure out what to do about this mess," she said.

"I don't want to have to run to the clubhouse every time something goes down at my house. I want my kids to grow up in a home, not a clubhouse." I said.

"I understand completely dear. I really do. I don't want the kids growing up here. They should have a yard and a neighborhood and their own rooms."

"They aren't going to have that growing up here. It's going to be constant fear for them and I don't want that. I want them to be normal kids."

She nodded. I looked down to see that my baby had fallen asleep. I sighed.

"We'll get to the bottom of all of this," she said.

I nodded, knowing that Jax wouldn't give up until he did.


	29. Chapter 29

(Jax POV)

I knew that Julie was not too thrilled about all this. I wasn't either. She came down the hall and looked at me. I held my hand out to her. She walked over and took it. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her forehead. She sighed.

"It's going to be ok," Clay said.

"Ya know, if one more person tells me that, I may just punch them," Julie said.

Clay chuckled. I knew that we were going to have to deal with Wendy. My family came first. I was going to take care of them. Julie put her arms around my neck.

"Daddy," my son was in the hallway.

I glanced over at him. He stared at us. Julie got up and went to him. He put his arms up. She picked him up.

"What's wrong baby?" she asked.

"I woke up and was scared." He said.

"It's all right buddy. Let's get you back to bed."

He put his head on her shoulder as she carried him down the hall. Tig threw an arm around my shoulder.

"We'll get this shit dealt with and it won't come back on us," he said.

I knew that they would find someone to deal with it for me. I wasn't worried about that. I was worried about how this had affected my family. Julie had never been one to talk about leaving the MC behind. She had learned to love the club. I just didn't want this to be a shadow hanging over my family.

"Baby, Abel wants you," Julie said, from the hallway.

"Coming babe," I got up from my seat.

I walked into my room. Abel was staring at me from the bed, next to his brothers.

"Daddy," he said.

"What's wrong buddy?" I asked.

"I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Who broke sissy's window?"

"Listen handsome, don't worry about that. Daddy will fix that. Sissy is fine, so are your brother's."

"I know."

"Get some sleep, Daddy and Mommy aren't going anywhere. I promise you that."

He nodded and reached out to hug me. I pulled him to me and hugged him tight. He was my oldest and he was the one most affected by anything that happened around our family. The other boys didn't worry as much.

"I love you son," I smiled.

"Love you daddy," he grinned.

"Lay down and sleep."

I stayed right next to him until he was asleep. Julie looked at me. I stood up and pulled her up into my arms again. She put her arms around my neck and kissed me. I ran my hand down her back to her butt. She smiled.

"I love you babe," she said.

"I love you too darlin," I grinned.

"So how long do you think we'll be here this time?"

"I don't know but I don't feel comfortable taking you back to the house without knowing either exactly where she is or knowing that she's been dealt with."

"I know honey, I don't want to take the kids back there and have to wonder if she's going to come back for him. I don't want that worry for him."

I nodded. She grinned. I knew that she was going to be worried for a while.

"I'm sending Happy with you and your mom tomorrow," I said.

"All right," she replied.

"Ok, make him carry the baby. I don't want you having to carry her all day long,"

"Jax, don't go all knight in shining armor on me."

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to be?"

"More like wrapped in tin foil,"

I rolled my eyes as she laughed. She kissed me again.

"I love you more than you know," she said.

Her playfulness showed me exactly how young she really was. She kept me young. I loved my family. She kissed me again. There was a light knock on our door. Chibs stood there.

"We need you Jackie boy," he said.

I kissed my wife again and walked out of the room.

(Julie's POV)

I watched my husband walk away from me. I was reminded why I loved that man. I turned and looked at my kids. The four of them were the reason we did what we did. I had definitely learned that you love the man and you learn to love the club. They really had our backs when it came to things that affected our family.

"Hey Julie, anything you want for them for the morning?" Gemma asked.

"How about we spoil them a bit?" I smiled.

"Donuts and chocolate milk it is."

I had a good relationship with Gemma. I didn't try to take the kids and I loved having the extra pair of hands to help with them when Jax was away. Gemma looked over at the prospect.

"Hey, come here," she said.

He walked over to us. She gave him a list of stuff to pick up. He headed out to get what we were going to need for the kids. I was worn out but sleep was not going to happen. I knew that it wasn't going to happen. Jax was busy down the hall dealing with everyone. I was expected to take care of the kids and just do what I was told. It was beginning to grate on me simply because I was scared to death. Jax came down the hall again.

"Babe, you doing ok?" he asked.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right I guess. I know it's really out of your control."

"Still, if you weren't with me you wouldn't be dealing with this."

"You, Abel, and Thomas would be."

"I know."

"So I would rather be here and be able to deal with them while you sort this out."

"I love you Julie."

"I love you too."

He kissed me. I put my arms around his neck. He was doing what he could but I knew he had no real control over our situation. I looked at the kids on the bed. They looked peaceful. I looked at Jax again.

"You need to get some sleep," he said.

"I'm not gonna be able to sleep Jax," I told him.

"Why not?"

"Jax, someone just tried to break into our infants room. I'm not going to be able to sleep until that person is dealt with."

"I'm working on it."

"I know you are. I'm just on edge right now."

He nodded. I sighed. Gemma was still in the room with us. I wanted to sleep but I wanted to know that my family was safe. They were going to come first no matter what. My kids were the world to me and I was going to do whatever I needed to do to protect them. I had no control over what Jax was doing with any of our lives. He was taking care of it the best he could. He had the club behind him in making sure that we were protected. I was just over the back and forth to and from the clubhouse. I wanted to be home and have our kids grow up in a home.

"What's the prospect getting?" Jax asked.

"A few things to spoil the kids a bit," I said.

"Sounds good."

I nodded. He went back down the hall to deal with everything again. They were trying to come up with a plan. I glanced at the kids again.

"Honey, they are ok," Gemma said.

"I know. I just worry about Abel." I said.

"Yeah, I do too. I don't think she's going to get him. I just worry about how it's going to affect him once it's all over."

"I always worry about the kids. I don't know what to do to deal with all of this."

Gemma sighed. Jax came running down the hall. I looked at him funny. He grabbed his bag from the room and took off back down the hall. He looked like he was on a mission. I looked at Gemma who shrugged.

"Let's go find out what's going on," she said.

We walked back down the hall. We made it outside just in time to see them take off on their bikes. I hated being kept in the dark about all this but I knew it was for the best.


	30. Chapter 30

(Jax POV)

We were going to get this shit dealt with. I wasn't going to have Wendy coming after my family after we had just dealt with Tara. She was not going to threaten my family. I wasn't going to deal with that anymore. My family came first. I was always going to put my family first.

"Jax," Chibs said.

"What?" I asked.

"You in the game today brother?"

"Yeah, I'm fine,"

He was looking at me funny, not believing me at all. I sighed heavily. I was worried about my family but I didn't think it was affecting me that badly. Julie was good at taking care of the kids. She could handle it without any issues. I did feel a little better that Hap was going with her and her mom the next day. He wouldn't hesitate to protect my family just as I would.

"Let's get this shit done. I want to get back to my wife," I sighed.

We finished the run at 3am. Julie was sleeping when I got back to her. I slipped into bed next to her and put my arms around her. She snuggled back into me in her sleep. I kissed her neck and closed my eyes.

"Daddy," was my wake up call.

I yawned and rubbed my eyes. Abel was standing next to the bed with a donut in his hand. I sat up. He looked at me and smiled.

"Mommy says it's time for you to get up," he said.

"Oh she does, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah, she does."

Julie was in the doorway, holding our daughter. I smiled.

"I'm up," I said.

"Come on, cuz I have to get going soon," she said.

"Ok, who is keeping the boys?"

"You are."

I made a face but laughed. She walked away from the door. Abel followed her out of the room. I got up and pulled on my jeans. I threw on some shoes and socks and walked out of the room shirtless. I went to the bar where they still had the donuts out. I grabbed one and a coffee.

"You good," Chibs asked.

"Yeah, I got kid duty today," I laughed.

"Yeah seems we all do."

"What do you mean?"

"Julie wants all of us to keep an eye on the kids."

"Oh, ok."

"Just in case someone has to handle something."

I nodded. Leave it to my wife to have all her bases covered. I looked at her. She was busy with Izabella. I sighed. She glanced my way and smiled. I knew that I could count on her to make sure things went smoothly.

(Julie's POV)

I sent Abel to make Happy get up. I was due to meet my mother in an hour. He had to get up so he could go with me. I was glad that Jax was making me go with an escort but explaining this to my mom wasn't going to be easy. Happy came down the hall, looking a bit disgruntled. I sighed.

"How long til we leave?" he asked.

"I have to meet her in an hour," I said.

"All right, let me get some coffee Chucky."

Jax walked over to me. He took our daughter from me and kissed me. I smiled. He kissed our daughter's head. It was cute to see him with a girl. She was definitely a daddy's girl and definitely the little princess around here. She was so spoiled. The guys loved her. She had her daddy's blue eyes. I looked at my husband. He sighed.

"You be careful today," he said.

"I planned on it," I told him.

"I meant what I said, let Hap carry the baby all day. She's not that light anymore,"

"Jax, I can carry a baby. Just worry about what goes on around here and dealing with the Wendy bullshit please?"

"I will babe."

I finished getting ready to go. Jax handed me our daughter. I put her in the infant seat and buckled her in. Hap and I headed out. He was on his bike and I had the van. I drove to my mother's house. My father was standing in the yard already. I didn't even want to get out and deal with him. He walked towards me. He glanced Happy's way before coming all the way to the van. I sighed heavily.

"Hi daddy," I said.

"Juliet, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm taking my mother shopping,"

"What is he doing here?"

"He's here to help me carry things today."

My dad nodded. He didn't look too certain about all this. My mom came out of the house with a smile on her face. She walked down to us, kissed my dad on the cheek and got in the van.

"I'll be home later dear," she said.

"Be careful with your mother," my father instructed.

"I will be dad,"

I drove off. Happy was behind us. We spent the day shopping and having a good time. We stopped for lunch at the local diner. Izabella was so good the entire time we were out shopping. Happy did end up taking her for me for a while. She gurgled and cooed the whole time she was in his arms. It was good to see how good the guys were with my kids. I was glad that I could take them around and they had fun with the guys and were treated so well.

"All right, are we ready to head home?" I asked.

I was worn out. My mother nodded. I dropped her off at home and my dad got a peek at his grand-daughter.

"There are three more of them," I said.

"Girls?" he asked.

"No, three boys. She's the only girl,"

"Wow, four babies and you're only 24."

"Yeah I know. I love my life and I wouldn't change it one bit."

He sighed.

"Well bring them by so I can get a look at them too," he said.

I nodded. He looked in at Izabella again. My mother kissed my daughter's cheek.

"Don't be a stranger, Julie," my mom said.

"I won't mom," I promised.

I took my daughter back to TM. The guys were playing with the boys on the playground. I went to find my husband. He was busy working on a bike. I shifted my daughter and waited to see if he would notice.

"Jackie boy?" Chibs said.

Jax looked up. I smiled.

"Hey baby, how did it go?" he asked.

"My dad wants to meet the boys. He met Izzy today," I said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, which is a step in the right direction I guess,"

Jax nodded. He stood up and wiped his hands off. I looked at our little girl. She was staring at her daddy. It was cute to see the kids with him. He leaned down and kissed her head. She stared at him. I glanced back at the boys. They were busy playing and hadn't even noticed I was back.

"Hey love," Jax said, bringing my attention back to him.

"What?" I asked.

"This is a good thing."

"I know, it's just kind of difficult to deal with all in a matter of two days."

"I know baby, but in the end it will be good for all of us, to have both families."

"I know Jax."

He leaned over and kissed me. I smiled. I was happy to have him and our kids. I was glad that some of the blowback from the club hadn't come back on me and the kids. They didn't need that and I wasn't in the mood to deal with any of it.

"She needs a nap," I said.

"All right, I'm gonna get back to this bike," he replied.

"Ok babe,"

I went and laid Izabella down in Jax's room. She went to sleep. I went down the hall. Chuckie was at the bar.

"Come get me if she starts crying," I said.

He nodded.


End file.
